Currie Communications

By Jenny Littlewood, Director, Client Strategy

You may have seen the column by Meghan Daum in The Age earlier this month (16 March 2010) reporting on a study by researchers from Washington University and the University of Arizona that found a correlation between feelings of well-being and the amount of time spent talking every day. 

It reminded me of a flatmate in London, orginally from Ireland, who would ring her mother every night without fail and talk for at least an hour. At the time I used to think ‘what can she be talking about?’ and ‘when will she get off the phone so I can use it?’ but looking back I’m sure it was a coping mechanism for homesickness – talking to her Mum made her feel better.

Today, of course, my former flatmate would have a myriad of ways she could communicate with her mother: Skype, SMS, email, twitter, to name just a few. The online ‘chatter’ is becoming deafening with 35 million facebook users updating their status every day and more than 5 billion pieces of content shared each week.

The world is alive with ‘conversation’ but I can’t help wondering if a study was carried out between feelings of well-being and the amount of time spent chatting online would it produce the same results?

Yes, I acknowledge that as communicators we can’t ignore the social media phenomenon as a channel for our messages, but when it comes to building rapport, listening and empathising, you can’t underestimate a ‘real’ conversation – ideally face-to-face.

By Julia Balderstone, Senior Consultant

Is it a surprise that PR generates more than half of our daily news stories in Australia’s newspapers? Hardly!

The Australian Centre for Independent Journalism at Sydney’s University of Technology last week released a study examining 2,000 stories across 10 newspapers over five days.

In essence, it found that nearly 55% of stories analysed were driven by some form of public relations and as many as 70% of stories in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph were PR-generated.

The story is familiar with other studies showing similar findings in the past. But understandably, many journalists and editors were defensive when questioned by Crikey.com about the survey. Reasons for the results varied from deadline pressure, resource squeeze to commercial realities.

Yet does it really matter that so many stories emanate from PR? Isn’t the key test of newsworthiness whether it is timely, balanced, relevant, accurate and in the public interest?

Also missing from last week’s analysis of the ACIJ survey were any statistics revealing how many incoming press releases are actually binned.

To a casual observer reading last week’s study findings, it might seem that the time has never been better for PR practitioners attempting to influence the news content in Australia.

The reality is quite different. In the past five years with the growth of the PR profession, many newsrooms have employed forceful assistants to act as “news bouncers” and veto calls from PR practitioners.

As the number of incoming media releases has risen sharply, journalists and editors have also become increasingly discerning about what is worthwhile news. A vast quantity of media releases are weak, generic, self-serving and only ever see the cutting room floor.

The best PR consultants will understand the news cycle and know inherently what makes news and perhaps more importantly, what does not make news. They know that it is only the balanced, targeted news releases with a strong news angle that will be deemed worthy of a journalist’s followup.

By Nicola Raymond, Senior Consultant

Since I arrived in Australia from the UK three years ago, some things have really surprised me.

Examples include the patriotism of easy-going citizens, drought, bushfires, cheap fuel and the huge gambling industry. And let’s not forget Australia’s infatuation with sport.

But nothing has been as surprising as the dominant Australian industry known as talkback radio, which started in Australia in 1967.

Talkback is big. Far from becoming an outdated media channel in this digital age, ‘radio’ continues to rule. 

According to recent ratings figures, more than a third of the Melbourne listening audience choose talkback radio. The leading stations are 3AW (693) and ABC (774).

But, within months, a new talkback radio station called Melbourne Talk Radio MRT1377 will launch, a joint venture between Macquarie and Pacific Star Network. It will compete directly against 3AW and ABC774.

Hosts and contributors will include Steve Vizard, Steve Price, Ray Hadley, Sam Newman and Andrew Bolt. It’s a controversial line-up, and there is no mention of female contributors so far, which only reaffirms that talkback radio is usually managed by a prominent group of men.

To compete against the reputable talkback shock-jocks Jon Faine (ABC774) and Neil Mitchell (3AW) is a risky challenge. Both have loyal audiences and years of experience. John Faine estimates that he gets as many as 10,000 talkback calls a year.

However, the partners of the new MRT1377 station believe that there is room for two commercial talk stations and the ABC in both Sydney and Melbourne. If the strong and healthy radio ratings are a guide, the gamble might just pay off.

My view is that talkback radio is tremendously important in Australia because it is emotive, immediate and sociable. Whether you are sitting in your car with Jon Faine, or at home with Neil Mitchell, their ability to speak to you on a one-on-one is personal and informing. I will be listening and watching this development with interest.

By Susan McNair, Director, Client Service, Currie Communications

FOR several years’ now I’ve been involved with the Rural Press Club of Victoria – first as a journalist, and now in Currie’s role as the Club’s Honorary Secretary.

As a press club, we’re there to serve the journos. To provide speakers, and topics, that are newsworthy and that are likely to generate copy.

At the same time, to keep the Club solvent, we need bums on seats – and to do that, experience has taught us that we can’t just serve a good meal, we must also appeal to the corporate agribusiness crowd.

It is a balancing act no better exemplified than at the RPCV’s last event. Monsanto’s Australia head Peter O’Keeffe was the speaker.

 With GM canola being commercially grown in Victoria for the first time this season, the subject was bound to appeal to media. The agribusiness fraternity was also interested, with many using the opportunity to entertain clients. And of course, the subject of GM will always raise the ire of some, so protestors and anti-GM campaigners were expected.

Naturally, Mr O’Keeffe was challenged by the latter and the challenge was typically well-rehearsed.

It was interesting watching the reaction of individuals around the room, and in feedback since many have questioned why the anti-GM fraternity was allowed to have their say.

From a journo’s perspective freedom of speech, neutrality, and reporting of both sides of the story spring to mind.

However to the communications consultant, it was a salient reminder of both the benefit and the challenge of recommending that a client embark on media relations.

It is true that the media is the best way to get a message out to a large audience, both cost-effectively and quickly.

But in choosing such a tactic, it is essential to acknowledge – and challenge the client to acknowledge – that what is on your plate, may not sate that of the journalist.

By Mark Paterson, Managing Director, Currie Communications

Climate scientists are under siege.

They have made errors of judgement in preparing the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. (http://tinyurl.com/yan2399). We don’t expect them to be sloppy. Science is the art of being exact, right? 

And in a debate about the future of the planet, there is no margin for error. So, at the moment (post-East Anglia, post-Copenhagen, post-ETS ) climate scientists have a problem, a credibility problem.

Now that their reputation is tarnished why will people continue to believe what they say? 

The issue is that they have seemingly lost sight of what we most value from them: independence, rigour and accuracy. Sure, the mistakes are few, yet when politicians and key opinion leaders treat their research as evidence for change to people’s lives, our trust in scientists’  integrity is paramount.

The lesson here for the rest of us is that it does not matter what we talk about, how, when or to whom, the vital thing is to remember why people listen.  What’s the core promise in the relationship? 

It’s non-negotiable. It’s an unwritten clause in the communications transaction that you ignore at your peril.  If you don’t know why your audience stops to listen to you, find out or prepare to be treated with contempt.

As for climate scientists, they face the tough challenge of redeeming themselves.  Ahead of the next IPCC report in 2012 they can expect more scrunity of their work than at any other time in history.

- by Gabrielle Sheehan, Senior Consultant

I recently had the privilege of visiting the Cook Islands with one of our clients – the Coral Reef Targeted Research & Capacity Building for Management (CRTR) Program.

Essentially, I was there to be an in-house journalist, covering a forum of senior managers and a practical training course related to natural resource management in the Pacific. I was also seeking local media coverage of these events.

In standard media relations practice, before I left Australia I sent a short email to local news outlets, advising them of the upcoming activities and that I would be in town to facilitate any media coverage, set up interviews, provide photographs and generally make their lives easier.  

As it turned out, this was not exactly the best way to go about things. In a country where relationships are critical in communications and transactions, I really needed to introduce myself better and provide information on local affiliations.

Things worked a lot better when I was taken personally to the TV station by a helpful local contact.  I was welcomed with open arms, quite literally, and with kisses on both cheeks – a bit different to the reception you’d get at Channel 9!

This experience was a reminder to me how relationships with journalists are critical, no matter what country you are in, and that we must always take into account the media’s needs and context if we want successful coverage.

I am pleased to report that we did achieve some great coverage of the events. In one story, all the sponsors were even mentioned – a rarity in the Australian media where they are often actively excluded.

One thing did not change, however – news is news all over the world. When a cyclone threatened Rarotonga, we got bumped from the headlines. (Just as well, as we had to rush home to batten down the hatches!)

By Katrina Walter, Senior Consultant

When I was asked to write the latest edition of the Currie blog, I pondered over the appropriateness of content for a communications website? What would impress someone browsing our company website for the first time and what would help reinforce the recommendation they may have received about us?

 I could write about how to get media cut-through in a fragmented market or why regional media works but I’ll save that advice for when we meet.

I thought you might want a tip that may interest you in the next click. So here’s a couple of columnists/broadcasters/websites I refer to, who provide inspiration and a chuckle.

Catherine Deveny writes for The Age newspaper in Melbourne every Wednesday. She’s bright, insightful and polarising.

Ted.com is an American website that says it has ideas worth spreading. They post cutdown videos from prominent world thinkers’ speeches. If you have 10 minutes, check out historic footage of Martin Luther King, ‘I have a dream’ speech, or recent ones you may have missed. Slow TV is the Australian version but my impression is that the editing is not as polished

Annabel Crabb writes for ABC online and makes the machinations of Australian politics seem worthwhile.

Peter Bradshaw, is a movie critic for The Guardian newspaper in the UK. He knows so much about film history and favours no particular genre. I don’t buy a movie ticket until he has given it the thumbs-up.

Finally, Einstein a Go Go, is a science program broadcasting on Triple R community radio every Sunday.  It is very accessible and thought provoking.  

I would love to receive some of your inspiring reference points, so please let me know.

By Jenny Littlewood, Director, Client Strategy

Like many working parents with school age children, I’m busy organising various activities and holiday programs. This can be a challenge particularly when a certain organisation (which shall remain nameless) doesn’t respond to calls or emails.  

As someone working in a service industry, it always astounds me when I encounter this lack of responsiveness. It leaves me not only feeling totally frustrated but with a distinct feeling they simply don’t care.

Unfortunately such is the lack of school-age care that we have limited choices as parents. (At least this has been acknowledged ‘Holiday care is not a black and white issue for working mums’ Sunday Age – 17.1.10 . So, for now at least, this organisation will continue in business.  Would Currie? Certainly not. 

At Currie we’d be appalled if clients had to leave messages on message banks and not receive a timely call back – in fact we don’t have message banks – we prefer our clients speak to someone each time they ring and have a policy that the phone shouldn’t ring more than four times before it’s answered. 

Such is the importance we place on responsiveness that we include a question in our client survey to ensure our levels of responsiveness are meeting and, preferably exceeding, client expectations.

Not once have I been asked to fill in a survey about the service or programs provided by the holiday care organisations I’ve used, probably because demand is outstripping supply.  But as parents should we be making them more accountable? 

I, for one, certainly hope there’ll be a time when I can choose between holiday program providers based on the level of service they provide. Until then I’ll be paying through gritted teeth.

The best way to do this? Although it may seem like a basic task, building your network of contacts, friends, supporters, clients and alumni is still one of the best ways to strengthen existing relationships and create new connections. 

The key to successfully doing this is simple: make sure to build your network authentically. This means creating a network of people who you genuinely enjoy connecting with. If you carry no hidden agendas, and are true to your personality, style and values, people will seek you out as an honest and genuine resource.

Now, take it a step further and connect those people to one another; it’s truly rewarding to be able to build a network for our business and clients, and at the same time help people who need to make their own connections, whether for employment, philanthropic or other reasons.

People will readily refer you and your business if they know, through the relationships you have built, that you are honest and ethical. And while we are certainly not discounting the power of the 140-character tweet, when someone you respect personally vouches for you, it’s amazing the influence they can have…and they’re free to not count words, and to only count characters in the truest sense of the word.

* The Castle Goup is located in Boston, US, and is a member agency of the Public Relations Global Network (www.prgn.com). You can visit The Castle Group’s blog site at http://thecastlegroup.wordpress.com/

By David Landis is president/CEO, Landis Communications*

It’s not even Christmas (or Hanukkah) yet and already, here they come – the cliché-ridden predictions of trends for 2010.

In the words of my mother, “oy vey.”

But sometimes it’s better to just jump into the fray. Rather than offering up my own sage advice, I asked for the top PR trends from my 40 affiliate PR agencies in markets around the globe, all members of the Public Relations Global Network.

There were some interesting results. Topping the list was what I call “the new media paradigm”; meaning, the role of social media, hyper-local blogs, citizen journalism, and SEO – how PR is evolving to handle this new beast.

On this topic, John Mallen, president of JMC Marketing Communications, New York, says, “It’s all about defining the function of public relations in the business and public affairs culture for organizations of the 21st century.” 

Anne Buchanan, president of Buchanan PR, Philadelphia, concurs. She says, “We must broaden the conversation beyond PR and engage clients in dialogue about initiatives heretofore outside PR’s domain.” Jackson Harrell, president of The Harrell Group, adds, “There’s more interest in the safety, appropriateness, and effective use of social media.”

Also big next year will be philanthropy. Jim Warrington, president of Fantail Communications, Toronto, says, “Corporate social responsibility programs are growing, driving community-oriented PR programs at the expense of commercially-based spends.” However, Scott Hanson, president of HMA PR, in Phoenix, Arizona, has another take. “There are more opportunities for non-profit work as funding sources dry up. And there’s a renewed sense of philanthropy as agencies take on more pro-bono clients to keep staff busy.”

Mark Paterson, MD for Currie Communications in Australia, says, “There is an increase in client demand for tactical support (keeping strategy internal).” But Sandy Lish, founding partner of The Castle Group disagrees. She says, “There are more PR consulting opportunities related to strategy, perhaps the result of corporations retaining more junior staff, yet recognizing they need senior counsel.”

Instead of the age-old story of journalists complaining about PR professionals, here’s a twist. Mike Diegelmann, CEO of Cometis AG in Germany, says, “The cut in media budgets leads to smaller newspapers. This leads to a reduction of staff and a very bad lack of know-how within the media.We as PR people have to deal with that.”

I also have a few top trends for 2010. For one, measuring PR success with tangible ROI will be increasingly important to clients. If they can’t prove that it helps the bottom line, you’ll be out of the budget. A disturbing trend is that of corporations trimming PR budgets to the bone. But the good news is they’ll spend more on social media.

But my number one pick is from Joe Ledlie, founder of The Ledlie Group, Atlanta, Georgia, and my all-time favorite curmudgeon. He describes today’s typical media person as such: “She has a communications firm and admits she’s also a freelance reporter. She wants details regarding  your client’s well-publicized problems. There’s no story line—yet. Just a ‘few people I’ve talked to.’ In fact, she has no detectable stories anywhere. She is ‘shopping a few locals.’ As conventional media disappear, this may be our future: the reporter who isn’t, working facts she hasn’t, for titles she’s pitching, using a story that’s ‘to be decided’.”

The future - maybe it ain’t so pretty?

* David Landis is president/CEO, Landis Communications, San Francisco, a member of Currie’s international network of owner-operated public relations firms (www.prgn.com)