7 tips for communicating when the electricity goes out

By Tracy Jones 

Anyone who has ever been through a natural disaster will tell you that one of the first things to go is the electricity. 

While mobile phone towers amazingly kept working following recent cyclones, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis across the world, power went out for prolonged periods.

For communicators used to having all the latest tools at our disposal, planning for how to get messages across in a blackout is critical.

Here are 7 tips to help:

1.      Rely on radio.

Even if people don’t have battery-powered radios, the one in their car probably still works. Use radio stations to get important messages out.

2.      Make every message self-contained.

People relying on their mobile phone for the internet don’t switch between Twitter, Facebook and the web during a crisis. They tend to stick with one application. There’s nothing worse than a Tweet that only tells you to “check our website for the latest update”. See our post on Twittercues for some hints on better tweeting. 

3.      Stay charged

Always keep your mobile and your laptop fully charged.

4.      Host your website in another city.

Or at least make sure your local provider is really, really ready for any risk.

5.      Use blogs and twitter to feed your content.

You can use blogs and twitter to feed content onto your website and facebook accounts. That way if everything else fails you can easily upload content via your mobile phone.

6.      Have a back-up email account

If your own business server goes down, a back up Gmail or hotmail account will see you through a crisis. 

7.      Remember the old tools

Once upon a time we relied on pen and paper and talking to each other. They still work. 

Twittercue: 7 tips for  communicating when the electricity goes out. #prtips #crisiscomms http://tiny.cc/7tipspower

Are you a PR professional planning a visit to the NT, Australia?

PRIA is looking for potential workshop speakers for events in Darwin and Alice Springs.

If you are a PR professional planning to visit Australia's tropical north, the Public Relations Institute of Australia's Northern Territory branch would love to hear from you.

The PRIA is always looking for guest speakers for their various workshops and seminars, although they work on a very limited budget.

So if you are heading our way and would love to give back to your professional community, please let us know by leaving a comment on this post or sending us an email tracy@creativeterritory.com

Twittercue: Searching for PR pros planning to visit #Darwin or #AliceSprings in #Australia. http://tiny.cc/ntvisit

Codes key to clever campaigns

By Anita Brabham & Domonique Young

About a month ago we came across a presentation from PSFK on mobile tagging and were excited about its potential as a PR and marketing tool. Like so many other innovations, it slipped our mind until we heard a radio segment on the Australian Communication Exchange using the new technology to engage with deaf and hearing impaired people at museums.

For anyone who isn’t in the know, mobile tagging is a barcode, quick response code (QR code) or Microsoft tag that links to extra information about the tagged item via Smartphone technology. Everything from street signs to coffee cups can be coded. All you need to do is take a picture of the code with your phone to access extra information about the item or image. It’s a bit like a hyperlink that links the real world with the digital world.

To see this best at work (and ogle at the endless PR and marketing opportunities this app has), visit the National Sports Museum which transcribed museum audio talks tours into Auslan (Australian Sign Language) and consequently into mobile tags, or Auslan Smart, revolutionising the museum experience for the deaf and hearing impaired. Auslan Smart is the first of its kind in Australia.

In Spain, the postal authority Correos and mobile marketing company Macanudos joined forces to code postal stamps. Take a picture of the QR code with your phone and you were given destination info about Alhambra of the Granada region, or whatever landmark was on the stamp.

Another fine example was New York City Parks. They used mobile tagging at community events to celebrate Arbor Day and add another dimension to the works on display in Central Park. Magma Agency embedded old photographs, scenes from iconic films and music clips from Orchestras who’d played at the park in years past with mobile tags. Each work featured a small tree, which Magma dubbed ‘parknodes’ that housed the barcode. A digital map of the parknodes was plotted, a Facebook page set up and voila, a successful marketing campaign was born. If you’re interested, check out Magma’s video for more.

Like any effective PR and marketing strategy you need to give consumers a reason to take action and interact with you. While at first people might engage with this technology because it like sounds fun, truly effective strategists and marketers should understand their audience and deliver the info they would want.

The possibilities of mobile tagging are endless. Imagine magazines, print ads, tourist displays, books and music linked to extra juicy info or goss? Watch this space, because we think the technology will be used more and more in the future. Oh, and did we say it's currently free to create mobile tags (we don’t think this will last)? To start cracking codes on all your favourite products, simply visit your Smartphone app store and download a QR code reader application.

Twittercue
Mobile codes create clever campaigns. http://bit.ly/ju3jTd #PR #apps

Sustainable Living House Warms Up for Winter

The onset of winter will see new energy efficient technology put to the test at the Alice Springs Sustainable Living House, which has a public open day this Saturday.
A new solar air heating system, installed during winter last year has already proved its worth with the resident of the house, Maggie Turnbull.


“After the roof was painted white, and with the colder than normal temperatures last year, we noticed the house felt quite a bit cooler than in previous years.”



“The new solar heating system has been doing its job already this year by providing warm, fresh air to the house, helping to reduce the need to use other heating systems.”

 The system uses a roof mounted solar panel to heat fresh air, and then pumps that heated air into the house.



It works best on sunny days, and as the typical winter’s day in Alice is cool but sunny, this type of technology is well suited to Alice Springs.



“Permanently closing the old vents in the ceiling has further helped to keep the warmer air in, and along with our solar hot water system, rooftop solar system, low energy lighting and other energy efficient measures, our overall energy bill should be just a fraction of an average Alice Springs home”, said Ms Turnbull.



Alice Solar City are monitoring the before and after temperatures at the house to assess how effective the solar air heating system is.



Some of the other energy efficient measures installed by Alice Solar City include an external colourbond ‘skin’ and adjustable shading.



Visitors can see how much energy the house is using and generating via an LCD in-house display.



DesertSMART COOLmob has fitted out the house with the latest off-the-shelf water efficient products, including a new 4.3/5 litre dual flush toilet, new tap fittings, showerhead and washing machine, and a clever rainwater tank that delivers water straight to the solar hot water system.



A ‘Water Wise’ booklet which shows simple and effective ways to lower your water use, including information on greywater systems and native gardens, will be available.



The Sustainable Living House is open from 1pm to 4pm this Saturday at 68 Kurrajong Drive.

Twittercue:
Alice Springs Sustainable Living House puts new energy efficient technology to the test. Open Day this Saturday 1-4pm 68 Kurrajong Drv http://tiny.cc/tlzba #Alice Springs #Sustainable #Green

Ends……


For media enquiries please contact Laurelle Halford from Creative Territory on 0417 222 211 or (08) 8952 9412 or laurelle@creativeterritory.com



About Alice Solar City
The Alice Springs Solar City Consortium is led by the Alice Springs Town Council and includes broad community support from the Northern Territory Government, Power and Water Corporation, Tangentyere Council, the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce, the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre and the Arid Lands Environment Centre. Funding sources include the Australian Government, the Northern Territory Government, Power and Water Corporation, and Alice Springs Town Council.

The Language of Creatives: Our Simple Glossary

What do all those words that creative people use mean? We often have to help our clients get through the industry jargon, so we created this simple glossary of commonly-used words.

AUTHORISATION TAG: During election periods, some advertising and marketing materials is required to be properly authorized under the Electoral Act and officers should inform themselves of these as serious penalties apply for breach of the legislation.

AIS: Aboriginal Interpreter Service. A Northern Territory Government service that provides interpreter and translator services throughout the Northern Territory. Visit www.nt.gov.au/ais

BLEED: An extension of colour beyond the edge of the artwork so that once your artwork is trimmed you get clean colour all the way to the edge of the page. ‘No bleed’ means that the artwork is the exact same size as the finished printout. If artwork with no bleed is printed on a colour copier or office printer there will be a white margin around the outside.

CAD APPROVAL: TV commercials receive classifications just like all other television programming. The classification tells the stations at what times they can air the commercial. For example, PG-rated commercials cannot be played during G-rated programs. When a TV commercial has been rated and approved by CAD it receives a CAD approval number. TV stations need to know what the CAD approval number is before they can air a commercial. Production houses will generally coordinate the CAD approval process on behalf of their clients. For more information about CAD approval visit www.freetv.com.au/Content_Common/pg-CAD-About-CAD-Numbers.seo

CMYK: See Process Colour.

COLLATERAL: Collateral, or promotional collateral, is all the printed promotional and information resources associated with a campaign. For example, a campaign about teenage binge drinking might include the following collateral: posters, A4 fact sheets, wallet-sized cards with emergency services contact phone numbers and a pull-up banner. Radio and TV commercials are not classified as collateral.

GSM: The weight of paper. Standard copier paper is 80GSM. Lower numbers indicate lighter, thinner paper and higher numbers indicate thicker paper or card. Different paper brands measure GSM differently so whenever possible ask your printer to provide a paper sample to confirm the weight. When you get printing quotes, check the GSM specified to make sure you are happy with it. GSM should not be confused with coating. Coatings include matt, satin and gloss.

HEX: Short for Hexadecimal colours, Hex is a formula for web-based colours and is represented by a series of 7 digits, such as #000000 (the formula for black) or #FF69B4 (hot pink). There are certain colours recognised as being “web safe” and able to be replicated accurately on most web browsers. You should ask your designer to recommend web safe colours if this is important to you.

IMAGERY: The photos and pictures included in campaign artwork. Does not include logos and graphics.

KEY NUMBER: An identification number allocated to every TV or radio commercial produced. Production houses provide key numbers for their commercials. The key number is supplied to TV or radio stations to a) help them identify the commercial in their system and b) confirm that they are playing the correct advertisement. Each time an advertisement is updated, the key number will change. The new key number will ensure that the stations are playing the correct version of the commercial. It is good practice to allocate key numbers to all commercials, including print and online.

LOADING: This is an extra amount charged on top of a standard advertising placement cost for placement in a preferred location. Some examples of preferred locations that will incur additional costs include:

• Press: Front page, early general news (generally pages two to nine), or right hand page
• Radio: Just before or after the news, playing the commercial at a specified time or at exactly the same time each day. Also, different times of the day cost different amounts. Breakfast (6:00 am – 9:00 am) and drive (4:00 pm – 6:00 pm) are generally more expensive.
• TV: Just before or after a specific program, playing the commercial at a specified time or at exactly the same time each day. It also costs more to air your commercial during popular, highly-rated programs.

MEDIA SCHEDULE: A plan identifying when a TV or radio commercial will be played (including dates, times, programs and channels) and when a press advertisement will appear in the newspaper or magazine (including date, loading and schedule). The media schedule may or may not also include a breakdown of costs.

OFFLINE EDITS: Early editing to a TV commercial before any of the special effects have been applied and before the sound has been added and edited.

ONLINE EDITS: Edits to a TV commercial that has been finalised and is ready to go to air. Edits at the online stage take more time and resources because the sound and special effects need to be updated to match any changes to the commercial’s footage.

PANTONE: A brand name for a colour matching system that is recognised throughout the world. The Pantone colour system provides an accurate way of ensuring the colour you want is replicated time and time again. You will often see Pantone colour represented by the letters PMS and a unique number. There are several different Pantone systems available, the most common being coated (C) and uncoated (U). Examples include PMS289C or PMS 1345U. Pantone provides formulas for both spot colour and process colour. See also RGB, Hex, Spot and Process Colour.

PAPER SIZES: There are standard paper sizes used world-wide. All paper sizes in the A-series (A5, A4, A3 etc.) are based on a standard ratio. Each smaller size is created by halving the preceding size. For example, A4 equals half of A3. You can find out more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_sizes#The_international_standard:_ISO_216. DL is not part of the A-series standard paper sizing. It is roughly the size of a business envelope, or exactly one third the size of an A4 page.

PRINT-READY ARTWORK: Graphic design files that have been set up ready to be professionally printed. Files are only supplied as print-ready files when they are ready to be supplied to the printer. They will often be a larger file size because all the pictures will be crisp and clear with higher resolution for professional printing. Print-ready files will also include bleed marks, crop marks and trim marks.

PROCESS COLOUR: Also called CMYK colour or four-colour. Files set up as process colour go through the printing press four times. Each time a new colour is added – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK. This allows the output of every possible colour combination. You need to use process colour if your artwork includes colour photos or pictures. See also RGB, Spot Colour, Pantone and Hex.

PRODUCTION HOUSE: A company that produces TV or radio commercials, videos, DVDs and other audio visual materials. A production house has the facilities to create an audio-visual tool from start to finish including filming, sound recording, editing, adding graphics, outputting final files to CD or DVD, arranging CAD approval and sending (Adstreaming) commercials to TV stations. Production houses generally do not write scripts, advise on media schedules or channels or book media placement.

RGB: RGB is a formula used for screen-based graphics. It refers to the relative saturation of Red Green and Blue in the colour and is expressed as a series of three numbers, such as RGB 176:214:138. HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) is also sometimes used, although RGB is regarded as the industry standard. RGB colours cannot be used for printing. See also Process Colour, Spot Colour, Pantone and Hex.

SCRIPTWRITER: A professional with experience writing scripts for TV, radio or DVD. A scriptwriter will have experience writing scripts that are suited to being read aloud and scripts that will fit within tight timeframes if required.

SPEND: Commonly used to refer to ‘media spend’ – how much of the budget has been allocated for playing the commercial on radio or television or placing the advertisement in newspapers or magazines.

SPOT COLOUR: A single colour that is created using one ink, dye or paint. Can include shades but only as a percent opacity of the original colour. Collateral produced with one spot colour can only include white and the spot colour. Newspaper ads produced with one spot colour generally include black, white and the spot colour. Printing in spot colour used to be cheaper than printing in process colour however that is not longer always the case.

STORYBOARDS: A series of pictures with captions underneath each picture. The pictures are sequential and tell a story. Storyboards are used for developing TV commercials. The storyboard will outline the visual concept, the script and may include notes about special effects, sound and music.

STYLE GUIDE: A document that outlines rules for producing documents. A style guide will generally include rules for using the logo, specific fonts for use, rules for grammar, capitalisation, acceptable abbreviations and more. Many organisations have their own style guide. If you don’t, use the Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, commonly known as the Commonwealth Style Guide.

TALENT: Any individual whose voice or person appears in photographs or filmed footage used in a campaign or kept on file for potential future use.

TALENT RELEASE: A legally approved form signed by talent authorising the use of their voice or images or film of their person. Talent release forms must also clearly outline any restrictions for the use of the image or voice. Children under the age of 18 years must have their talent release signed by a parent or guardian.

TVC: TV commercial.

VOICEOVER: A voice recording in a TV commercial that is played over an image and is spoken by a person who is not seen on the screen.

Watch out in coming weeks for our other glossaries: The Language of the Media and The Language of Social Media.

Easter family fun at the Waterfront

twittercue Easter family fun day @DarwinWaterfront Sat 23 April http://tiny.cc/8ph3w #TopEnd #DarwinNT #Easter

Keep the kids entertained this Easter with plenty of family fun and a visit from the Easter bunny, on Saturday 23 April at the Darwin Waterfront.
The Waterfront will take on a carnival-type atmosphere with activities by Corrugated Iron, games by ‘Life.Be in it’, balloon twisters, face painting, a live DJ and chocolate Easter eggs for all the children.

More than $1000 in prizes is up for grabs at the free family fun day, including accommodation for two staying at the Medina Grand and Vibe Hotels and a family dinner aboard the Charles Darwin.

Kids can meet the Easter Bunny, visit Bunny’s burrow and get their picture taken with the Easter Bunny.

Let the kids get a bit wet and wild on the waterslide and play on the jumping castles. ‘Life.Be in it’ will be running fun and easy kid’s exercise games to get everyone active. Top End youth arts organisation Corrugated Iron will be there and will get the kids involved in plenty of fun and challenging activities.

Easter at the Waterfront will get underway at 10am and finish at 2pm. So hop towards the waterfront this Easter.

Ends…

For more information or interviews please call Anita Brabham on 08 89419169 or email anita@creativeterritory.com

*Please tweet our twittercue

Is your media release Twitter ready?

If you’ve ever played Telephone, you know how easy it is for a simple message to lose its meaning.

Sending out a media release is like playing this childhood game. Very few journalists will ever replay it the way you want and the essential message can be lost as people reword and rework your beautifully crafted prose into just a few short sentences.

That’s just the name of the game in public relations, but the advent of social media has made the job even harder. Thousands of citizen journalists are now reinterpreting your media release into less than 140 characters.

A recent example was an announcement from the Northern Territory Government in Australia during Cyclone Carlos allowing non-essential public servants with child-caring responsibilities to take personal leave if they could not get alternate care arrangements for their children. Employees should check with their supervisor if they were not sure if they were regarded as “essential”.

The tweets from those spreading the word looked something like this:

Non-essential public servants urged to stay at home due to #TCcarlos

The result? Hundreds of public servants with and without children stayed at home without ever contacting their supervisor.

It’s hardly the fault of the multitudes who retweeted this message, but it is a great example of how a message can lose its full meaning very quickly.

At Creative Territory, we’ve seen hundreds of original media releases, stories and blogs get mangled as well-meaning tweeters try to make sense of what the writer was trying to say and rebroadcast it in a tiny package.

So what can PR professionals do to make it easier for others to pass their message on?

We’ve recently created the “Twittercue”– the practice of adding a set of words to the bottom of media releases that enable tweeters to pass on your message without distorting the meaning.

So if I was writing a media release for the situation above, I would add the following to the bottom of the release:

Twittercue: NTG non-essent staff who need 2 care 4 kids may take prsnl leave. Chck with supervisor #TCcarlos http://tiny.cc/3pdeaz

Some tips for writing a great Twittercue:

• Forget the flowery language – concentrate on the facts
• Use an appropriate hashtag
• Include a url pointing to the full copy of the media release
• Keep it to 120 characters in total to allow for unedited retweeting
• Don’t be afraid to use abbreviations – speak the language of your Tweeps.

Twittercue for this release: Is your media release Twitter ready? http://tiny.cc/twittercue #PR #SM #twitter

Young Territorians wanted for national survey

To coincide with National Youth Week, Mission Australia is calling on young Territorians to help highlight important issues in their lives by having their say in the charity’s 2011 National Survey of Young Australians – the nation’s largest annual report on the views, concerns and values of young people between the ages of 11-24.

In launching the 2011 survey, Mission Australia’s NT Director, Phillip Leslie, said it gave young people a voice across a range of issues with the information being used to help community groups and governments plan and develop youth services.

“Mission Australia’s annual youth survey is a ‘temperature check’ on what young people are feeling, what issues concern them, what they think are the main challenges facing the nation and how optimistic they are about the future,” Mr Leslie said.

“Responses to the survey help governments, youth agencies and ourselves improve and develop programs and strategies that are shaped by the voices of young people themselves.”

Last year’s survey tested the views of close to 1,500 young Territorians (50,000 young people nationally – its biggest group since the survey began in 2002) between the ages of 11-24 (87.9 per cent aged 11-19).

When asked to rank their personal concerns from 15 issues body image was ranked most frequently in the top three by 30.5 per cent of NT respondents, followed by alcohol at 27.6 per cent and family conflict at 26.5 per cent.

For the first time the survey asked young people for their unprompted views on the most important issues facing Australia.

Heading NT responses was environment with 49.9 per cent ranking it as a ‘top three’ issue followed by alcohol and drugs (39.2 per cent). Environment was the major issue for all age groups and for both males and females in the NT.

“Young people’s concerns can be quite volatile – moving around from year to year – and they differ between age groups so it’s important we conduct this survey annually, with as many participants as possible, to obtain an accurate picture.

“The range of concerns - from stress to depression, suicide and body image – also suggest young people are facing increased challenges as they make the transition from adolescence to adulthood,” Mr Leslie said.

Mission Australia’s 2011 National Survey of Young Australians can be completed online at www.mayouthsurvey.com.au. It is also available at all Mission Australia services, secondary schools, TAFE facilities and libraries nationwide.

The survey closes on Friday, 29 July with the results to be published later in the year.

Debut performer wins Urban Quest

It may have been his first ever live performance on the big stage, but that didn’t stop Tevita Moala from singing his way to Urban Quest success over the weekend.

The 16 year old Darwin High School student outperformed 10 other finalists to win the Mission Australia talent competition at the Darwin Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

The singing pianist brought many in the sold-out crowd to tears with his rendition of John Legend’s I won’t complain.

The young Kiwi national introduced the gospel song as a dedication to a friend in New Zealand who suffers from Muscular Dystrophy. 

Guest judge Deni Hines described Moala’s touching performance as better than that of John Legend’s.

“I want it on CD, cause I’d buy it now,” the soul songstress said.

An overwhelmed Moala was lost for words at the win, scoring for himself 12 months mentoring from Music NT, cash and studio recording time.

“My friend Jeanie entered me in the competition, so if it weren’t for her I wouldn’t be here now,” Moala said.

“I was really nervous - this is the first time I’ve done something like this - but I just felt the music and am so happy.”

The Michael Buble and Temptations fan will now put his winnings to work as he pursues his musical dreams.

Jack and Sam Weaver and Peter Rautoka were equal runners-up in the competition, which raised funds for youth homeless across the Top End.

Australian pop idol Mark Holden awarded all three acts a “touchdown”, as well as 13 year old Shiane Hawke with her collaboration of Amazing Grace and Duffy’s Mercy.

Beatboxer Kane Bishop was awarded Best Composition of the night.

Mission Australia Operations Manager Brad McIver said the night was a huge success and lifted the profile of youth homelessness.

“We exceeded our expectations for Urban Quest and the money raised will support us to develop new accommodation for homeless youth in the NT and expand our current services and programs,” Mr McIver said.

“Every little bit helps and if we can make a difference in one of the 5000 homeless Territory kids lives, then that’s what this event was all about.”  

Urban Quest will become an annual fundraiser on the Mission Australia NT calendar.

 

Tough call at Urban Quest semi finals

Eleven acts are through to the Urban Quest Finals Concert on Saturday night after the judges struggled to choose just ten.

Former Australian Idol judge Mark Holden delivered three touch downs through the 20 performances including opening rock duo Jack and Sam Weaver.

More than 1000 people turned out to support the young performers, aged between 11 and 18, at Casuarina Square.

The youngest finalist Kaiyah Chadwick, who’s in Year 6 at Marrara Christian College, wowed the audience with her rendition of Halleluja without backing music, while beatboxer Kane Bishop reverberated through the crowd.

Mark Holden will now work with the young singers in mentoring workshops to polish their performances ahead of the big night.

“It’s fantastic being up here,” Mark Holden said.

“But what I really looking forward to is working with each of the finalists and improving their performance.”

Urban Quest, organised by Mission Australia, hopes to raise awareness of youth homelessness in the Top End and expand homeless accommodation services.

In the Territory, up to 5000 people are homeless and more than one quarter are young people aged between 12 and 18 years.

The Urban Quest Finals Concert, which includes a performance by Deni Hines, starts at 7pm at the Darwin Entertainment Centre this Saturday, 2 April.

Tickets cost $17.50 per person or $50 per family of four, with all proceeds supporting Mission Australia to develop homeless services for young Territorians.  

The 11 Urban Quest Finalists are:

Kaiyah Chadwich, 11, Leanyer                   

Peter Rautoke, 17, Palmerston

Casey Glennon, 16, Malak                           

Shaine Hawke, 13, Stuart Park

Gabrielle Wright, 16, Palmerston             

Jianynne Anastacio, 16, Katherine

Tevita Moala, 16, Darwin                             

Kane Bishop, 15, Darwin

Leighton Kay-Mick, 13, Karama                 

John Micairan, 18 Palmerston & Flyod McDonald, 18, Karama

Sam & Jack Weaver, 17 & 14, Wagaman

For more on each of the performers visit facebook.com/MissionAust. To purchase tickets to the Urban Quest Finals Concert visit www.darwinentertainment.com.au.