The rain looks like it could be here to stay … so we may have to skip the stadium and watch from somewhere dry and warm with a few Crownies. Either way, it’s nice to have friends and family in town!!

Speaking of visitors, the folks from Queensland and NSW were in fine form on Wednesday night at Etihad Stadium, as was the cross promotion for Channel Nine with The Voice’s Delta Goodrem “on top of the world” and little Annie singing her heart out.

While it was a great atmosphere, I did wonder why so many grown men and women had donned Annie wigs? Thankfully, the real Annie didn’t need to borrow one – that could have been a catastrophe!

Now back to The Voice, a show that’s captivating the nation for good and bad reasons. Earlier in the week I caught up with Joel Carnegie, a finalist in The Voice’s Kick Start competition sponsored by Australian Super, who is hoping to win & head to the London Business School. Take a second and vote for Joel PLUS you could win a chance to go to the Voice Final show!!!

Cooking is another c-word of the week, with our associate Helen confirming she’s not only a star in the boardroom but also in the kitchen. On a whim she whipped up a batch of scones with all ingredients purchased from our local 7 eleven. For the record: they were delicious!

The final c-word for the week: cowl neck. Because it was rainy & it’s casual Friday I thought I’d wear my cowl neck jumper. Coincidently it’s from Calibre.

Oh the c-words are flowing, the rain is pouring and our to do list is growing; so time to end this post and head back to the emails.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Cheers,

Jack & the c word crew

Firstly, I have a confession: I have been the world’s worst blogger of late (well the past month or so) and have failed to write a single post. However, that’s all about to change. I’ve been inspired, which means you’re going to pine for the days when I only posted once a month, as I embark on my new crusade to blog like I’ve never blogged before.

So I’m kicking off the crusade with a new weekly column Closing Comment (and gosh look at the time, it’s already a little late!!). The Friday column will be a recap of our week at the c word; the cool colleagues we’ve caught up with, campaigns we’ve worked on and colourful events we’ve attended.

This week’s c-words: chimps, canapés, copyright, crèche and chocolate.

Monday was spent playing catch up after last week’s successful 2012 Women in PR Forum with the wonderful Sara James from NBC Universal. Read all about it in the latest edition of PRIA Victoria’s e-news, which includes my regular presidential message (prepare the motorcade) and a great Q&A with Slavica Habjanovic.

Now to chimps, not the playful animals you see running around the zoo, but the helpful tool for creating e-newsletters. After what seems like an eternity, we finally found the time to fully discover the power of Mail Chimp and I think we’re in love. It’s a great e-newsletter tool and oh how I love a computer program that works like it says on the packet.

On Monday, we also attended a function at the Victorian Investment Centre hosted by the American Australian Association, Invest Victoria and the US Consulate. Not only did we get to catch up with a host of lovely Melbourne/American people, we also heard from Kenneth R. Mayer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His insightful presentation focused on the 2012 US Elections, which are certainly heating up in the States. It’s incredible to think that Obama’s personal campaign target is $1 billion – that’s a lot of advertising and events.

Tuesday and Thursday the c word stood for crèche with colleagues past and present visiting and bringing their little cherubs. One is never too young to learn the art of answering the phone, making coffees or setting up an alphabetical filing system … well perhaps six months is a little young?

Then Thursday we headed along to Queens Hall at Parliament for canapés and copyright law discussion at the Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Awards. It was great to see so many examples of innovative records management and meet the people behind the archives. We were also very impressed with the mini recall archive box we got in the information bag – very c=cute albeit a little too small for our files.

And now, what does the weekend hold? Coffee and papers are on the list. I’ve fully embraced the iPad and went a little crazy downloading all of the iPad paper apps, so Saturday will be spent consuming at least three papers, and no need to rush to the recycling bin (bliss!).

Cheers to a fun filled weekend,

Jack & the c word crew

And a song we’ve been humming this week, Brother.

Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss), Roger Sterling (John Slattery), Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks)
Photo Credit: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC

Before we start this post about our favourite 1960s show, we have a warning: it’s been typed using a Hermes 3000 Mint Green Portable Typewriter with a missing letter that follows b. Obviously we *an’t type it be*ause it isn’t working. So we’ve repla*ed it with *.

Typewriter dilemmas aside, we’re all very ex*ited about the return of Peggy, Betty, Don and Joan. What will they be like 17 months on?

In less than 9 days the Mad Men (and women) of Sterling *ooper Draper Pry*e will be ba*k on our Australian s*reens. The wait has been ex*ru*iating – parti*ularly given the fa*t our Ameri*an friends have been ba*k in the sixties for over a week now. Those lu*ky devils.

The tremendously su**essful US *able television program premiered its fifth season in the USA last month. The period drama set in the 1960s details life in a fi*tional Madison Avenue advertising agen*y where men still hold the power and women are portrayed as se*retaries, housewives and models who ought to know their pla*e.

It has be*ome one of the most su**essful and highly a**laimed *able shows ever, with *riti*s praising its histori*al a**ura*y; authenti*ally show*asing the *hanging attitudes and moods of Ameri*a in the 60s.

Not only are women treated as se*ond-*lass *itizens, the ‘*oloured’ folk hold medial jobs on the show – although from the blogs we’re reading this is all about the *hange (well slowly). Only half a *entury later the fa*e of advertising and *ommuni*ations in general has *hanged dramati*ally. As has so*iety as a whole, men alone don’t hold all the power anymore.

Fast-forward fifty years and Australia has its first female prime minister and the United States of Ameri*a has Obama. These two people alone show how far our two *ountries and western so*iety has progressed. Advertising and the way information is disseminated to the general publi* has also *hanged dramati*ally sin*e the 1960s when advertising was thought to be the sole way to *ommuni*ate with the publi*.

The role of the publi* relations pra*titioner was barely defined and newspapers *overed the events of the day – without a press release. Today, as mu*h as half of a newspaper’s *ontent *an *ome from a *ompany or its PR or *ommuni*ations professionals.

The other *hange is that *ompanies need to be more transparent than ever — something only just taking shape in Mad Men. When the show begins in 1960, Ameri*ans are only just finding out about the dangers of smoking, something that Sterling *ooper, the fi*tional agen*y tries to avoid when *reating advertisements for its *lient Lu*ky Strike. Today’s *onsumers not only want to know what is in the food they eat, they also want to know how and where the produ*ts are made. The past fifty years have seen a dramati* shift in so*ial *ons*ious, morals and environmental awareness. No longer will *onsumers blindly buy produ*ts and believe the *laims advertisers and *ommuni*ators make about them.

Unlike Mad Men, men AND women must be straightforward with *lients and *onsumers and respe*t their intelligen*e. In the age of so*ial media, transparen*y and integrity is not only rewarded but a must. In the *yber age if you mislead your publi*s it won’t be long before someone finds out you weren’t telling the whole truth. It is obvious the benefits that *ome from building a trust based relationship, su*h as repeat business. So while some may wat*h Mad Men and yearn for the simpler times of one-way *ommuni*ation, *onsumers are keeping *ompanies honest, and that benefits so*iety as a whole.

Another *hange that we think is worth noting, is that in the Mad Men era, lots of people reading this would be in another job or unemployed be*ause your job simply didn’t exist. Peggy ponders: “What’s a blogger?”

So how did we stay o**upied for the past 17 months between martinis? We’ve re-wat*hed the fist four seasons of the show, read – from *over to *over – a new book by a real Madison Avenue advertising exe*utive of the 1960s – a Mad Woman *alled Jane Maas, and pra*ti*ed the art of martini drinking.

OK, now to fix the typewriter & *ra*k into a day of *ommuni*ations in the year 2012.

*heers from Ja*k and the * word *rew

Photo by Yagan Kiely via Flickr

Another great post from the Crowden Communications Clan, this week, Alexander Crowden asks whether social media is #productiveornot.

A few years ago Twitter, Facebook and blogs (such as this one) were heavily frowned upon if not banned in many workplaces. Employees had to sneak behind the boss’s back to see what their friends were doing and see who had poked whom. Now that businesses have seen the light of social media’s massive potential, it seems in many fields of work, that social media is not only allowed but also openly encouraged.

Nearly every business wants to use social media to promote their brand, products and to tell everyone how they are helping YOUR community. The question that has often been raised; is social media helping companies or not? Putting on your consumer hat, most people will probably lean towards yes. We now know more about companies than ever before, and we get our information straight from the company itself without the filter of news media, often in 140 concise characters.

To a certain extent social media has made press releases, newspapers and news websites a little passé. By the time a newspaper ‘breaks’ a story, thousands of Facebook fans and Twitter followers have known about it for several hours and are already discussing it with friends and colleagues. In essence social media is a prime example of the ever changing communications field. The way information is given to the public, consumers and stakeholders is constantly evolving and communicators need to adapt and stay abreast of new technologies.

It is virtually impossible to avoid using social media if you are employed in the communications sector. From journalists to public relations practitioners, no matter your age, the chances are you are being encouraged (or forced) to use social media.

Getting your head around properly using Facebook or Twitter is tricky enough. Deciphering whether Twitter is worthwhile or just a procrastination tool is another matter altogether. The main challenge once you’ve got your head around the new technologies is how to use them effectively during your workday. Given the social media tap is always on, and topics always changing, looking away or logging off to do some ‘work’ can understandably be difficult.

How many tweets a day is too many? How can I fit what I need to say into 140 characters? Surely no one will notice if I start following Oprah even though she has nothing to do with my job? These questions can begin to take over. The victim is often your productivity. Balancing your normal work with social media is not an easy task. Not to mention how to define the line between personal and business matters.

No doubt social media is here to stay, and as communicators, like the majority of people in general, you’re going to have to get used to it. Social media engages the public in a way that has never been seen before. Therefore it has to be taken advantage of. The challenge remains how to use social media to your company’s advantage without sacrificing your own productivity.

Now hands up if you’re a social media addict? And are you reading this at work?

After three years living and working abroad, Laura Crowden (a former c-worder) has returned to Melbourne and shares her insight and advice on finding the perfect job in Melbourne’s communications sector.

Since leaving Australia in mid-2009 to backpack around Europe and work in London, all feedback on Australia’s economy was “it’s boom time”. A rapidly climbing Australian dollar, rising salaries, low unemployment and a minerals boom made the decision to head to London in the midst of a recession seem somewhat misguided. Luckily, I managed to stay employed, well paid and travelled almost every corner of Europe. But upon packing up my bags and returning home for Christmas, I was somewhat dismayed to discover I might have missed the boom altogether.

Widespread job losses in the financial and manufacturing industries are constantly in the headlines, and unemployment is predicted to rise. While the strong Australia dollar may make shopping trips to the US cheap, on the flip side it’s causing too many jobs to move offshore.

So, since arriving back on our sunny shores, how have I found the job market? Well, not too bad to be honest and salaries definitely exceed the UK for communications roles. January was understandably sluggish but the general consensus is that job vacancies in most sectors will begin to increase in the coming months as offices get back into gear.

Resume polished, referees contacted and a kick-ass cover letter drafted, I could procrastinate no longer and had to get stuck into re-entering the Melbourne market. With over six years of media relations & PR experience in Melbourne and London, I was looking to move away from the public sector and into a different field. The current recruitment freeze across the Victorian Government made it the perfect time to look elsewhere.

First step was quite obviously Seek and other job sites. I scoured every job ad in Marketing & Communications, saving those of interest. Reviewing each advertisement carefully, I then applied for those of interest and relevance. I wasn’t too choosy and cast a wide net, at times applying for roles more junior or more senior to get a better understanding of the market. After all, any interview is good experience.

In addition to applying for ads on Seek, I got in contact with old colleagues and bosses. Networking may be an overused word in communications, but it does work. Over coffees, lunches and dinners, I gained further insight into the market and sought out possible jobs. I dramatically overhauled my LinkedIn profile and achieved ‘100% profile complete’.

Recruiters were the next obvious step. I sought recommendations, introductions and contact details from friends who had recently been job hunting in Melbourne. From email introductions to general cold calling, I found persistence was the key to setting up meetings and getting registered. I sought out the most highly recommended recruitment agencies, but balanced quality with quantity. Finding a job, either through recruiters or via Seek, is to a certain extent a numbers game.

Job hunting is definitely easier if it’s your full time job. You have time to submit thorough applications, follow up all leads and recommendations, and foster relationships with simple actions like thank you emails. As mentally draining as it is to talk about yourself all day, and repeat the same answers to different recruiters, you begin to get into a groove. You quickly learn to devise standard responses or the best way to phrase a particular job or responsibility.

Interviews with recruiters are a fabulous trial run for interviews with perspective employers. And all interviews should be pursued, even if you aren’t sure about the job. After all, you’re interviewing them as an employer as much as they’re interviewing you. And sometimes a seemingly mediocre job becomes a perfect fit after meeting the team, and sometimes you realise a job that looked fantastic on paper may not live up to your expectations.

I struggled with balancing the need for an income with the desire to take a step up in my career and seek out the perfect role. Most of the time, the 100% perfect role doesn’t exist. What you can hope for, and what I found, is a role that will hopefully tick most of the boxes and offers me room for personal and professional growth.

So how did I find a job? A combination of being in the right place at the right time, putting myself out there and working damn hard. Job hunting may just be the most challenging job of all…..

In recent weeks, we’ve watched as a number of high profile Australian and international leaders have handed in their notice. Some have given lots of notice while others have chosen to move on quickly.

Last week, the Head of Facebook in Australia and New Zealand, Paul Borrud, made headlines when he announced his resignation after six years at the helm. Then over at Air New Zealand their CEO Rob Fyfe also outlined his plan to resign at the end of 2012. And at Transurban their CEO Chris Lynch became another Australian CEO to announce their departure.

And internationally the long-serving co-CEOs of Research in Motion (the company responsible for the ubiquitous BlackBerry) have handed over the reigns to Thorsten Heins.

Closer to home and in the political sector, Labor’s Rob Hulls called it a day this month after 15 years in politics.

So what makes a CEO or high profile leader step down?

It could simply be time to retire. Time to clear out the inbox and spend more time with the family. It could also be a response to a scandal such as the resignation of the BP CEO following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Other reasons for a change at the top might include appointment of a new board, poor company performance or perhaps the call of a new opportunity.

Whatever the reason, if the communication surrounding the departure of a senior leader is handled incorrectly, it can have a disastrous impact on the company.

Investors get edgy and share prices plummet. Consumers lose confidence in the company and sales go down. The brand is damaged and competitors gain an edge. And most importantly employees become unhappy and decide to pack up their staplers as well.

So how should a CEO’s departure be handled?

First and foremost you need to ensure all stakeholders are informed in a timely and appropriate manner. Large organisations should build this communication into their succession planning so it should be a matter of pressing a button and beginning a process.

Large or small, you need to consider all of your stakeholders and their information needs. Think about the questions different stakeholders will have and make sure you have answers ready.

It’s also important that all key information is given to ensure that people feel comfortable in the change. Even though we all say “change is as good as a holiday”, it actually doesn’t compare to three weeks lying in the sun on a tropical island. So you need to relieve people’s anxiety by demonstrating how the person’s role will be filled and how their responsibilities will be managed.

It’s also important to celebrate the CEO’s time with the organisation, particularly if they’re retiring or moving into a more senior position. A CEO’s departure is also a great time to take stock of an organisation’s position and promote its achievements.

Above all, make sure your employees and board members have all the facts so they can rest assured that the organisation will continue to operate well after the CEO has punched his or her last timecard.

And if you’re the CEO, make sure you remember to hand back your passes and update your LinkedIn (but not before it’s all made public!).

Cheers from Jack & the c word crew

It’s Australia Day tomorrow. Time to celebrate living in this beautiful country. Time to enjoy a barbecue with friends. And time to look at some of the iconic brands that “still call Australia home”.

I couldn’t resist throwing in part of the Australian classic “I Still Call Australia Home”.

Now on with the blog …

First to Vegemite. You’ll find it in most Australian households either for frequent use or to have on hand for the overseas visitors.

I have personally only acquired the taste for Vegemite in the past few years but now don’t have to be worried about being found to be un-Australian. The only problem is a need to avoid the word c-word in the world: carbs (so vegemite on toast is off limits most days!!)

Before we look at the good. Let’s look at the not so good. iSnack 2.0. Where do I plug it in? How many batteries does it take? Will it play my podcasts? The brand copped a lot of flack over the decision to tinker with the classic taste and the name. After much public outcry, Kraft soon dropped the name and moved on to better things.

Now they’re back with another attempt to win Australians over with a name change. This time, they’ve opted for the name Australia. Watch out for the limited edition jars featuring a red Australian flag and Australia on the label. They’ll make any overseas visitor enjoy the taste even more.

The name change isn’t Vegemite’s only campaign to cash in on Australia Day. They are also celebrating Australia Day with special limited edition Vegemite jars featuring 10 remarkable but everyday Australians in the “Toast of a Nation”. It reminds me a little of the stamp series launched by Australia post back in the late 90s – remember?

I think both campaigns have turned out well and I am even considering rushing out and buying one or two of the limited edition jars. Thankfully they remembered to include Tasmania on their map of Australia, unlike Shapes.

That’s enough of a spread on Vegemite, now onto some other iconic Australian brands.

Hands up if you haven’t (at one point or another) had a hills hoist in your back yard? If not, put the mouse down and head off to Bunnings to check one out.

I can remember many hours spent with grandma hanging clothes on her hills hoist. And because of the set up of her back yard, we were able to jump on at the low point and fly around.

It’s one of many great Australian inventions and has become a symbol of Australia in many artistic works. It’s also a great example of a brand that spread like wildfire and came to represent a whole category of products. It’s our very own Xerox.

Another classic Australian brand is Bonds. Hands up (I know it’s starting to feel like we’re in a classroom) if you have never owned a pair of Bonds undies or a Chesty Bonds singlet? Now owned by Pacific Brands, the company has continued to produce a range of popular products. They company has also had its share of controversy with a large number of jobs moving overseas.

Australian tennis player Pat Rafter and model Sarah Murdoch have both promoted the brand in recent years.

I’m a Queenslander so I couldn’t let this post past without a reference to Bundaberg Rum and XXXX. Both brands are as Queensland as the Broncos and sunshine.

Last but not least, we can’t write a post about iconic Australian brands without mentioning Qantas. The “Spirit of Australia” has helped millions of people fly around this vast country of ours to weddings, concerts, business meetings and so the list goes on. As well as being a pioneering Australian company, they’ve also survived a number of other Australian airlines and dealt with a number of crises including the recent grounding of their entire fleet.

And who can talk about Qantas without thinking about the Qantas choir and their renditions of Peter Allen’s “I Still Call Australia Home”.

Here are some c-word brands to think about on Australia Day:

• Caramello Koala – 40 million sold in Australia each year
• Carlton & United Breweries – call in for a Carlton at our friends at Meyers Place
• Cascade Brewery – image adopted for its label in 1987, H. C. Richter’s 19th century illustration of the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger
• Castlemaine Perkins – producers of XXXX (see above)
• Chiko Roll – inspired by the Chinese egg roll and spring rolls
• Clag (glue) – feels cold to touch and when applied to paper, it sometimes alters the colour of what is on it and causes paper to warp
• Claytons – non-alcoholic Australian beverage
• Coon cheese – available in every supermarket around Australia
• Coopers Brewery – yet another Australian beer brand
• Cottee’s – my dad picks the fruit that goes to …
• Crown Lager – originally only available to visiting dignitaries but we can thank the Queen for making it available to the public
• Crown Pilsner – yet another Australian beer

From everyone at the c word, have a wonderful Australia Day.

Cheers,

Jack & the c word crew

appleheadphones by ezekiel23 source: stock.xchng

Hopefully the executives at Sydney’s 2DayFM have taken down some notes from Jenny Craig about managing their eating habits during a Sandilands-fuelled crisis. They should probably keep them handy in the year ahead.

This week, Jenny (previously known as Jenny Craig) threw the company’s support behind the Kyle & Jackie O Show, then 24 hours later withdrew their sponsorship amid massive public outcry. The brand’s international Facebook page was overwhelmed by comments from Australian contributors.

Let’s face it, someone was always going to make the first move and sponsor the show in the wake of Kyle’s latest outburst, so let’s give Jenny a break. However, it’s still a big issue for the brand, which says they didn’t know how Australians felt about Kyle.

The Jenny sponsorship & un-sponsorship is the latest in a series of debacles facing the infamous Australian radio show. Two years ago, Sandilands said Magda Szubanski, coincidently a former Jenny Craig spokesperson, would lose more weight in a concentration camp. At the time, Kyle was temporarily taken off the air. (Thank god, we all thought!! But alas, it did not last.)

Eighteen months later and Kyle made headlines again when he described a News Limited journalist as a “fat slag” and threatened to hunt her down after she wrote a negative story about his TV show.

Does anyone else see the running theme? Doesn’t it sound like a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Kyle should take a long hard look in the mirror before he opens his mouth again.

In the lead up to Christmas, Holden was among a number of sponsors to pull their advertising from the show. This followed a petition signed by 32,530 people calling for sponsors to drop the show.

Yesterday was the show’s first day back after the summer ratings break. I bet many fingers were crossed hoping people had forgotten the incident and were ready for more of the inane humour, but the folks on Twitter and Facebook were never going to let that happen.

Jenny’s first response was to stay the course and tackle it head on. But within hours it was obvious that this approach wasn’t going to work, and they made the decision to pull the advertising and tell their customers they had listened.

The company released this statement:

“One thing about Jenny Craig is that we listen. We listen, we understand and we make an enormous effort to walk in the shoes of others. We badly misjudged public perception of Kyle Sandilands. We have taken what has been said seriously. Mel B has happily been part of the 2DAY FM Breakfast show for the better part of last year. Our intention was to support our ambassador in her broader media role. We feel sorry we have offended so many people, underestimated the sentiment against Kyle and are clearly upset that we made such a mistake. We have instructed 2DAY FM that our advertising is to be discontinued on the Kyle & Jackie O show, and the rest of their schedule immediately.”

The pull of the Kyle & Jackie O’s large audience was one reason to try and ride out the storm. Part of Jenny’s initial approach was a Twitter hashtag #tellkylewhattyouthink calling for questions and comments to Kyle. A good attempt at turning an issue around, but it failed to gain traction and didn’t give Kyle the opportunity to confess to his sins and move on.

The radio network is continuing to support Kyle, even though it looks like he’s lost the show more than $10m. Can Kyle and Jackie O weather another storm? Will listeners continue to switch stations? Which advertiser will be brave or stupid enough to sponsor the show in the wake of Jenny’s departure?

All of these questions and more will be answered as the year unfolds.

Cheers,

Jack & the c word crew

We know it’s not an exact science, but we thought we’d drag our crystal ball out of the mothballs and see what 2012 might have in store. Hang on to your hats …

Cracking client challenges with consistency, creativity and collaborations

The best thing about communication is that you never know what exciting adventures are on the horizon. After a busy 2011, the next 12 months are shaping up to be even busier – just make sure there’s plenty of coffee brewing!

First up, there are lots of strategies and plans to be finished and implemented. It’s a great time of the year to take stock of your communications and set a course for the months ahead. What went well in 2011? What can be improved?

Over the next few months, we’re also looking forward to helping a couple of our clients re-brand their organisations – who doesn’t love a makeover.

We’ll also be pulling the covers off our typewriters and inking our red pens for another busy year of copywriting for corporate magazines, brochures, annual reports and company profiles.

There are also events to be organised, stories to be pitched to the media, blog posts to be written, characters to be tweeted and Facebook walls to be written on. Gosh it’s exhausting just thinking about it, but come December 31, we’re confident we’ll look back on another great year!

Costume dramas on the box

We’ve just finished re-watching season 4 of Mad Men and can’t wait to return to the 1960s for season 5 later this year. Will Don have married his sultry secretary Megan? Will there be a little Joan running around the corridors at Cooper Sterling Draper Price? Will Peggy finally get the recognition she’s been waiting for? And will Betty find another child psychiatrist to solve her growing number of problems?

And what about the new seasons of Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs? How will the folks of Downton and Eaton Place cope through the wars? What other period dramas will be gracing our screens?

Competitive cereal in the breakfast TV market

It’s not long now (we hope) until Channel Ten unveils its new breakfast show. Hopefully they’ll be serving up a cooked breakfast every morning and inspire the other early risers at Sunrise and Today to do the same. We’re also looking forward to another year of great reporting from the team at ABC News Breakfast – hats off to Virginia, Michael and the rest of the team in front of and behind the cameras.

And of course, we’re looking forward to some early mornings (or late nights) watching NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America – or perhaps catching Oprah’s BFF Gayle King on the re-jigged CBS Early Show. Oh how we love you American breakfast television.

And if that’s not enough, what will happen on the box during the mid morning shift? Who will complete the circumference of The Circle following the departure of Chrissie Swan and Ding Dong Drysdale? How will Sonia cope filling KAK’s shoes?

Communicators from countless countries converge on Melbourne

The countdown has officially begun for the World PR Forum in November 2012, hosted by the Public Relations Institute of Australia.

Leaders in communication from around the world will be heading to Melbourne to discuss, debate and devour case studies about communications. If the last World PR Forum (held in Stockholm) is anything to go by, we’re in for a real treat.

That’s all for now folks, until our next blog.

Cheers and claps,

Jack and the c word crew

PS. And we couldn’t leave without a sneak peak at the new Absolutely Fabulous – bring it on!!

Cheers and happy new year!!

As we reach the end of our holidays and prepare to embark on our next exciting chapter at the c word, we thought we’d take a quick look back at some of the c-words of 2011.

council chair: pria victoria

In October 2011, Jack signed on for his second year as State President of the Public Relations Institute of Australia and a director of the national board.

For the past 12 months he’s been trying to get everyone in the office saying: “We serve at the pleasure of the President (of the PRIA)”. He thinks he’s had some success but really we’re just humouring him.

After the real President’s visit in November, he’s been trying to coin a new acronym: POTPRIA (President of the PRIA).

As State President, Jack attended a range of events from the sold out Women in PR luncheon (2012 date = Friday 11 May) to a fantastic seminar about PR for major events including the Food and Wine Festival, Women in Super Fun Run and Melbourne Fashion Festival.

He said it’s a pleasure working with the councillors, fellows and members of PRIA.

coverage central

In May 2011, we went behind the scenes at The Age and 3AW on an exclusive PRIA members-only tour. The event was organised by PRIA member and The Age Communications Manager Miranda Schuppan.

We started with an extensive tour of Media House (that swankey new building on the corner of Collins and Spencer Street). The tour took us into the busy newsroom where we bumped into a few familiar faces and watched the editor of theage.com.au post a breaking story on the homepage. We then got a peek at the cutting edge theage.com.au TV studio before heading up to listen to an interview from the main studio and chat with the 3AW news team.

After the tour, we sat down for an intimate lunch with three journalists from The Age. The journalists included Senior Writer Shane Green, Editor of theage.com.au Daniel Sankey and Editorial News Manager Laura Hamilton. They each shared tips and advice on working with the newspaper.

After a great tour, a lovely lunch and a fruitful conversation we walked away with some fantastic insights into the iconic Victorian newspaper and radio station as well as a copy of the Good Food Guide – not bad for an afternoon’s work!

cellophane

Our work took us away from tending to the crops on our blog cellophane this year but we did manage to post a couple of articles each month. Next year we promise to do better and keep the c words flowing.

We continued our series of conversations with leading communications professionals including Austereo’s Jamie Garantziotis, Hassell’s Slavica Habjanovic and Queensland PR Academic Amisha Mehta.

We also continued to rant and rave about communications with a recent post about the pavlova served up to the President and an earlier post about the quality of breakfast TV in Australia. Some of the posts also provided something resembling useful advice.

Watch this space as we launch an exciting program of blog posts in 2012.

collaborators

We continued to collaborate with a number of partners in communications in 2011 including Burning House and housemouse.

Burning House helped us produce some compelling video content for our clients including a fantastic series of mobile ready videos for the Victorian Equal Opportunities and Human Rights Commission. Our cinematic collaborators also helped PRIA develop a great new series of videos with leading Australian communicators. And they continued to find the time to individually burn everyone’s business cards – impressive!

The crew at housemouse continued to demonstrate their prowess in the design field by creating cutting edge logos, can’t-put-me-down magazines and eye-catching posters for our projects. Most recently we collaborated on a project for Victoria University’s re-launch of the School of International Business. They also produced another two sensational issues of their designer magazine, fluoro.

cocktails, canapés and conversations

The life of a communicator isn’t all cocktails and canapés but sometimes (say once or twice a month) we do get to sample some fine canapés, wash them down with champagne and indulge in colourful conversations.

This year we managed to get an invite to some fun events including gala dinners, cocktail parties and public lectures.

Highlights included a Fourth of July reception at the Immigration Museum, the launch of a new Community Partnership Trust at BMW Edge and a swanky gala dinner for the Melbourne Boston Sister City Association.

Melbourne really does know how to throw a fabulous party.

chin chin, cumulus, and a few other culinary attractions

We love our culinary treats at the c word. Particularly those served up in places starting with c. You would be amazed by the number of c-word restaurants in Melbourne – particularly minutes from our office. Here are some tips from our travels:

Making our way down the street from our office, we start at Cumulus. It’s a popular spot for coffees, lunchtime catch-ups and cheeky crackling pork sandwiches.

Another hundred metres down the lane and you’ll discover Chin Chin. Grab 10 friends and book the communal table with the “feed me” option. It’s hard to pick a favourite but the PORK is amazing – anyone notice a theme – and the king fish sashimi is delicious.

Then further afield there’s Café Vue. It’s another favourite close to clients and a great spot for coffee or lunch.

Here are a few more choice culinary locations on our cool list: The Graham (Port Melbourne, out-of-this-world red duck curry!); Ichi Ni (St Kilda, try the ebi mayo prawns); Hoboken (city, scrumptious red beans and rice) and Attica (Ripponlea, worth the wait for a booking).

classrooms and conferences

Jack spent the first semester at RMIT University teaching introduction to PR to more than 70 first year students. The teaching was a great opportunity to share some of the work that the c word is doing in communications and also get some insight from the next generation of communicators.

He also visited a number of universities talking to PR students as PRIA President and participated in the inaugural PR Student Forum at Victoria University.

Jack was also a speaker and panellists at the Internet Show in Melbourne where he joined a panel with the social media representatives from NRL and the Australian Greens.

costco, cookies & containers

We know we’re a little late to the party but this year we discovered a new favourite c-word: Costco.

While we have well and truly earned our Costco shopping badges we did discover some great items …

The official cookies in the office (until we ate them all) were Byron Bay Rocky Road Cookies in a bulk pack. We’ve since had to ban them from the office but we’re sure they’ll make a re-appearance in 2012.

We also re-discovered our love of containers with Oxo. What do containers have to do with communication? We’re still working on that but we had to share.

capturing communicators on camera

We helped cultivate collaboration between Burning House and PRIA earlier this year. Together, they produced a series of videos called “Broadcast PR” with interviews of leading Australian communications.

The first series of interviews included Miranda Schuppan from The Age, Lelde McCoy from Ogilvy, Trevor Young from Edelman and young communicator Jack Herbert.

The interviewees talked about how they got into the industry, what are the biggest challenges facing communicators at present and what does the future hold for communications.

A new series was recorded at the PRIA National Conference in October and all are available via the PRIA website.

co-location

Co-location is a great word, isn’t it? We’ve been a bit obsessed with it ever since we discovered it while preparing content for a client’s co-location.

In July 2011, we moved into a new space at Level 1, Milton House, 25 Flinders Lane with our clients, colleagues and chums at VESKI.

The charming building is called Milton House and was originally a hospital. It’s also home to the Committee for Melbourne, BioMelbourne Network and Melbourne Open House.

If you haven’t been to visit yet, drop in for a coffee and a chat.

Cheers and happy new year.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the first week of 2012.

Jack and the c word crew