Laura Crowden, the c word’s ‘Royal Correspondent’ brings us this report from London on the intense media scrutiny around the impending royal nuptials.

Union Jack’s are everywhere. Apparently the tulips at Buckingham Palace have bloomed a fortnight too soon. BBC correspondents, even the cameramen, will be in formal dress. The bride has just been given her own coat of arms. Posh and Beck have received their invite. Camilla described it as ‘wicked’.

The tourists have started flocking, and locals are torn between heading to the Continent and throwing a street party. Harry is preparing his best man’s speech, although has warned it won’t be too controversial as his ‘grandma will be there’. A public holiday has been granted adjacent to the May bank holiday – the so-called ‘Prince William and Kate Middleton’s four day bender!’

The reason for the hooplah is of course, the upcoming marriage of HRH Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. Girl-next-door girlfriend Kate Middleton has been replaced by uber-glamourous fiancée Catherine. And the UK and international media has been there every step of the way since the engagement was announced back in November.

Media coverage has been escalating over recent weeks. Kate is likely to grace the front page of at least one daily broadsheet paper daily, with the tabloids devoting saturated coverage to the nuptials. In addition to the newspapers, every television station is devoting almost the entirety of 29 April to covering the Royal Wedding, and international journalists are converging on London.

The BBC will deploy at least 550 staff on the day, using about 100 cameras in Westminster Abbey and along the procession route to provide a live feed to dozens of countries and footage to many more. Thankfully, the BBC has confirmed that the Royal Wedding coverage will not be impacted by looming budget cuts, saying it will be given “due prominence… this will be a big-scale event”. About 140 broadcast trucks are expected to set up in Green Park near Buckingham Palace and 48 television studios have been purpose-built nearby for what is thought to be largest outside broadcast ever.

The media landscape has shifted considerably since 750 million people tuned into watch William’s parents Charles and Diana get married in 1981. Royal spokespeople have released social media coverage plans for the royal wedding on April 29, and they plan to flood Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and the Official Royal Wedding website with the nuptials and pomp and circumstance before and after.

The social media saturation is “in line with the couple’s wishes to make the wedding as accessible as possible for as many people as want to participate,” which Buckingham Palace confirmed through Clarence House, the public relations arm for the big day, on its website. Wills and Kate will be getting married live on YouTube, via the official Royal Channel, and staff at St James Palace and Clarence House will provide regular Twitter updates.

Coverage of the wedding ceremony itself will broadcast from 11:00am GMT. The unseasonably warm weather means Britons will be making the most of the extra bank holiday, with local councils giving almost uniform support for local street parties and public events. Combined with the UK’s tolerance for public alcohol consumption, it’s likely to be the social events of the year, even for those without an invitation to the palace.

‘Austerity Britain’ is in need of a party. The ongoing recession, high unemployment and rolling spending cuts (even Prime Minister David Cameron and his multi-millionaire aristocratic wife, in a blatant PR stunt, recently travelled on a budget airline) means Britons have had little excuse in recent years to party. It has been riots, not street parties, rocking London over the past year.

And amidst all the fuss, not a single strand of Kate’s perfectly blow-waved mane (courtesy of Richard Ward of Sloane Square) has been out of place. Her blue engagement dress by Issa sold out in hours and has been copied by the high street and even supermarket chain Tesco. Fake ‘Kate’ engagement rings (which is the very ring Prince Charles gave to Diana) are available for £8.99. Every girl, it seems, can be a princess.

Her gradual weight loss has been the subject of intense media scrutiny and derision, and every single aspect of her wedding outfit has been speculated and debated. Apparently she will wear her hair out. Apparently she wants flowers in her hair. She will not be arriving by carriage. Her dress is believed to be designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen.

Britain, and particularly London, is in the grip of Royal Wedding Fever. Despite plummeting support for the Royal Family in recent years, there is almost unanimous affection for down-to-earth William and his lovable, larrikin brother Harry. Even ‘Waity Katey’, as Kate was formerly tagged by the tabloids, is seen by the British public as fairly grounded and lovely young woman. She and William have been together for eight years, and the Royal Family has been sure to fully integrate her into royal life to avoid the mistakes made with Diana.

Only the most ardent monarchists seem to be complaining about the waste of taxpayers money. By declaring a public holiday (part of the ‘Fabulous Fortnight’ which also includes three other public holidays thanks to Easter and the May bank holiday), the Royals have well and truly got the British public onside. Everyone, it seems, is ready to party. And of course, we are all dying to see what Kate will wear.

Cheers,

Our royal correspondent, Laura Crowden and the c word crew

I’ll be the first to admit I love a good mini-series … add Asher Keddie playing Ita Buttrose, a focus on media in the 70s and I’m hooked.

The ABC will be hoping some of the magic from Cleo, which sold out its premiere print run of 105,000 within 48 hours, rubs off on Sunday night when their new two-part series, Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo premieres.

The mini-series will follow the development of the team behind Cleo, which started life as Cleopatra and gave us the Cleo Bachelor of the Year, the infamous male centerfold and the doyenne of Australian media, Ita Buttrose.

The two-part series starts in 1972 and tracks 30-year-old journalist and editor, Ita Buttrose and 35-year old Kerry Packer, heir to what was then Australia’s most ruthlessly powerful and influential publishing family. It follows them as they create a magazine that became one of the most dramatic sensations in Australian publishing history.

Buttrose, played by Asher Keddie, was born in Sydney in 1942 with journalism in her blood. She was the daughter of former Daily Mirror editor Charles Buttrose and set about becoming editor of the Australian Women’s Weekly, becoming the first female editor of a national newspaper and founding editor of Cleo along the way.

It is amazing to think that there is even a magazine to make a mini-series about. Research and marketing analysis showed the project would be a failure and the magazine was vehemently opposed by the domineering Sir Frank Packer (whom Ita called “God”). It just goes to show you sometimes you need to trust your gut!

Here’s what the ABC has to say about the magazine and the forces behind it:

With courage and a stubborn belief in each other the odd couple went for it, and the result was a magazine that not only surfed the emerging 70s zeitgeist, but led the way in articulating for women a new way of thinking about themselves and their place in cultural Australia. Women readers found in CLEO a manifesto for a new confidence and an argument against the entrenched patriarchy that had for too long defined the relationship between the sexes. Filled with intelligence, wit, and a ‘go for it’ attitude, the fledgling CLEO took off on its first issue, taking Kerry, Ita, and a hand-picked bunch of iconoclastic staffers along for the ride. CLEO was a women’s magazine with a libido and a curiosity about almost everything…

The two-parter will screen at 8.30pm, Sunday 17 April and 8.30pm, Monday, 18 April, on ABC1.

You might also enjoy Inside the Great Magazines which the ABC is re-showing at the moment.

In the meantime, here are 10 Australian Magazines that have left a lasting impression:

1. Cleo

2. Australian Women’s Weekly

3. TV Week

4. The Monthly

5. Woman’s Day

6. FHM

7. People

8. Dolly

9. Who

10. BRW

Cheers, Jack and the c word crew

PS. Our first dog was called Cleo after the magazine. She was the best dog – a blue heeler.

Can you believe it has been more than two years since Barack Obama moved into the White House? What’s more amazing is that it is time for him to begin campaigning again.

The 44th President of the United States announced his 2012 re-election bid this week with a new site, a healthy social media following and a message that it begins with us.

The social media savvy President has more than 19 million friends on Facebook and 7.3 million followers on Twitter – not a bad start to the 18 month campaign.

Like his 2008 campaign, video, social media and face-to-face grass roots campaigning will play a major part in this campaign. He kicked off the campaign with emails and SMS messages to his supporters asking for their support.

At this stage they’re keeping it simple and looking at what’s worked well over the past four years and what needs improving. And like their previous website, they’re making it easy for people to get involved – just head to the website and add your email and postcode.

While the team is re-building barackobama.com from the ground up they’ll be able to draw on the open and transparent communications established over at whitehouse.gov.

Check out the White House website when you have some time … I love the West Wing Week videos which are created each week by Arun Chaudhary the official White House videographer.

As an aside, I’m currently re-watching The West Wing with a friend and while we’re only up to season 4, I’ve snuck in a few episodes from seasons 6 and 7 and am loving the buzz of the campaign.

It will be interesting to see if the Obama-Biden campaign can repeat the success of the 2008 campaign in terms of fundraising and outreach – and deliver us another real life season of The West Wing.

Take a moment to look at the welcome video – no Obama just voters talking about why they’re getting involved … I particularly like the lady who explains why the president can’t be everywhere … because he’s got a job to do.

Let the campaign begin!

Enjoy the rest of your week,

Jack and the c word crew

ABC News 24 of course.

From hung parliaments to devastating floods there has been no shortage of news since ABC News 24 went to air eight months ago. While the journalists, producers, crews and editors have been busy providing live coverage of national and international events they’ve still managed to produce some quality new programs and refresh some old favourites.

The 7.30 Report is one old favourite which has been refreshed for the new news channel. This month ABC launched its new flagship current affairs program 7.30 with Leigh Sales and Chris Uhlmann anchoring from Sydney and Canberra respectively.

From the episodes I’ve watched so far, the show appears to continue the tradition of high quality reporting and in-depth interviews set by Kerry O’Brien and his team. Speaking of Kerry, while he may no longer be behind the desk at 7.30pm each night, he remains a critical part of the ABC news team presenting Four Corners in a new weekly role.

But back to 7.30. The show brings together a team of national and international correspondents who provide in-depth coverage and analysis of business and political issues. Sales covers the stories from Sydney and around Australia while Uhlmann is on hand to cover the news breaking in Canberra – no doubt he’ll be on call 24/7.

As well as being a consummate interviewer, Leigh is a published author, popular tweeter and regular contributor to the ABC’s opinion site. Prior to 7.30, Leigh anchored Lateline, interviewing major figures including Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair and Henry Kissinger. She has also been the ABC’s Washington Correspondent, as well as their National Security Correspondent.

Chris Uhlmann came to journalism a little later in life than Sales but has certainly gained wide recognition for his quality journalism. He started as a 29-year-old copy kid at The Canberra Times in 1989 and switched to television in 2008 where he has been Political Editor for ABC News, The 7.30 Report and ABC News 24.

Both anchors will no doubt bring new audiences and fresh perspectives on the stories to be covered by 7.30.

The show also features a Friday edition, which brings the state-based programs previously known as Stateline under the one banner while retaining local hosts. Hopefully this will give each of the state-based editions greater prominence and provide higher quality Friday night viewing.

As well as 7.30 and Four Corners, we’re also enjoying:

• One plus One – Jane Hutcheon presents a series of weekly interviews with newsmakers from around the world. It’s wonderful to have a program giving time to in-depth interviews.

• ABC News Breakfast – a great start to the day with Virginia Trioli and a team of national correspondents

• Q&A – who doesn’t love the opportunity to ask questions of Australian community, political and business leaders PLUS there’s a possibility of seeing your tweets on screen.

Cheers,

the c word

 

PS. What’s your favourite television news program?

Last week, our Managing Director, Jack Walden sat down with Jamie Garantziotis from @Engage_TV – a new PR video series from the US.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think about the future of PR.

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?

 

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.