TIO helps shape next generation of leaders

TIO has opened its doors to two young achievers from Alice Springs to help build leaders of the future.

For first time the company extended its sponsorship of the Alice Springs Desert Leadership program and invited Monica Quan and Nathan McAuliffe to participate in its three-day leadership program in Darwin.

TIO Chief Executive Richard Harding said the company wanted to build confidence in the community and support its future leaders.

 “Desert Knowledge Australia presents us with a new and unique opportunity to engage future leaders and encourage them to make a difference in the Territory,” Mr Harding said.

“The program aims to help them foster their development and capabilities.”

Monica Quan, who is a Camera Person and Editor at Imparja Television, said the TIO leadership program encouraged her to face her fears.

“I learnt you that can make meaningful change in small steps,” Ms Quan said.

“TIO has cultivated a culture that questions itself, the way it does things and to challenge the status quo, which is important for any leader.”

Nathan, who is a plumber with Ingkerreke Commercial, added that the skills he learnt during the program relate to all areas of life.

“You can relate and apply leadership to your family situation, your footy team or your workplace and make a choice to make it a good environment – it’s about the positive role we play,” he said.

Monica and Nathan are both part-way through their one-year intensive leadership program with ASDL.

The Alice Springs Desert Leadership program aims to build the next generation of leaders by equipping participants with the knowledge to make.

TIO has been a sponsor of the program since April 2013

**Ends**

For further information please contact:

Tracy Jones, Creative Territory 89 461694

Creative Territory shortlisted for international social media award

Creative Territory has been shortlisted for an international award for social media.

The Darwin-based company has been named as one of three shortlisted entries in the Public Affairs Asia Gold Standard Awards, which recognise excellence in public affairs throughout the Asia Pacific region.

The company is up against campaigns by global companies Adidas and IBM in the Social Media Communications category, the winner of which will be announced in Hong Kong on December 6.

Creative Territory has been recognised for its use of social media during Cyclone Carlos in February 2011, including the provision of information through Facebook and Twitter during the storm and its research into community information sources afterwards.

Managing director and social media commentator Tracy Jones said her company’s work has led to a greater understanding of how people in the Top End access information during emergencies in the social media age.
 

“Our research has shown that Territorians are increasingly switching to their smartphones and computers in an emergency,” Tracy said.

“When Cyclone Carlos hit Darwin, Territorians were looking to Facebook and Twitter to find out what was going on but few local organisations were there with them.

“We’ve seen an amazing turnaround since then, with authorities and the media now providing a complete social media service that not only provides information but engages Territorians in the recovery process.

“The use of Facebook and Twitter during Cyclone Carlos was 22 per cent. Just 10 months later during Cyclone Grant that had jumped to 38 per cent. More importantly, Territorians feel much better informed about what is going on as the use of social media grows.”

Creative Territory has shared its research with the local community, media and government as well as interstate and international colleagues. This work has contributed to creating a better understanding about how people access and use information during emergencies and recovery.

For more information about the awards: http://www.publicaffairsasia.net/goldstandard/index.html.

Cars beat buses and trains in Northern Territory Brolga Tourism Awards

A small business offering digital audio travel guides for self-drive tourists in Outback Australia has won a prestigious 2011 Northern Territory Brolga Tourism Award in the category of Specialised Tourism Services at the weekend.


DIY Tourguide’s GPS triggered iPhone app, MP3 and CD audio tours are the first of their type and this niche product for the Northern Territory reinforced its acceptance by the marketplace by rising to the top of the Brolga Award category over national companies offering tourist products for buses and trains.
The Brolga Awards are the tourism industry’s highest accolade and recognises tourism businesses that strive for excellence in every area of their operation. Winners represent the best products and services in the Northern Territory.
“I am thrilled to receive the Brolga Award and see innovation and small products recognised,” said Alice Springs based Laurelle Halford, who is the director for DIY Tourguide and the only employee in the business. She is also Creative Territory's Alice Springs consultant.
“More and more tourists coming to the Outback are travelling independently in their own or rental cars rather than in a group with an on-board tour guide, meaning they miss out on vital information to help them fully appreciate the region.
“We wanted to better entertain self-drive tourists and help them to interpret the Outback landscape as they drive through it and not see the centre of our country as an empty, barren place.”
Along with CD and MP3 tours, DIY Tourguide’s unique iPhone application offers detailed, location aware audio commentary over a distance of hundreds of kilometres giving self-drive tourists a new appreciation of the region as they travel.
“For the tech-savvy tourist lack of mobile phone and internet coverage in Outback Australia no longer needs to be a barrier to accessing latest technology.”
Ms Halford says work is underway to expand the company’s self-drive routes beyond the West MacDonnell Ranges and between Alice Springs and Uluru to other routes across the Northern Territory and Australia.

DIY Tourguide is one of the many Brolga Award winners who will represent the Northern Territory in the Australian Tourism Awards in Cairns on 2 March 2012.

Twittercue: DIY Tourguide app helps Alice company win Brolga Tourism award. #alicesprings #topend #tourismnt http://tiny.cc/diybrolga

5 ways to improve your Twittercue to get your message out

By Tracy Jones

Since I wrote about the Twittercue back in April, we’ve seen an amazing take-up of this idea by social media-savvy PR professionals. (read the original post)

A Google search of the term “twittercue” pulls down more than 2400 results, a far cry from the first time we searched the term and got just 12. Our blog posts have been tweeted hundreds of times by converts and about 10 other blogs have carried posts on the topic.

Thanks everyone for spreading the word, although we’re still working on getting Wikipedia to accept Twittercue as a new term.

From watching the words spread, we’ve picked up a few more suggestions on how to make a Twittercue work better for you:

1. Tweet your own Twittercue. PRs who do are more likely to see their post retweeted, sometimes hundreds of times.
2. Keep your Twittercue to 120 characters or less, otherwise Tweeps have to edit your original post before retweeting. Remember: you want them to Tweet your exact words.
3. Make sure you have a link back to your online media release so people can get the full story.
4. If you are writing a Twittercue in an emergency situation, make sure your tweet is self-explanatory. People don’t always switch between Twitter and a web page if they are on their smart phone in the aftermath of an earthquake.
5. Add appropriate hashtags.

We’d love to hear about your experience with Twittercues and find out if they have been successful for you, so please post your comments to allow us to pass your success on to others.


Twittercue: 5 ways to improve your Twittercue to get your message out #PRtips #socialmedia http://tiny.cc/e1csq 

5 steps to engagement through social media

By Tracy Jones

If you’re thinking about getting into social media, you need to employ the principle of MATES – Monitor, Act, Talk, Engage and Sustain.

We’ve coined the term MATES because it emphasises what communicators know to be the most powerful aspect of social media – its ability to engage in meaningful conversations rather than just mindless promotion.

These five steps will help you get started.

MONITOR: Start your social media journey by looking at what others are already saying and doing in the social media sphere. Google like crazy. Do some searches in Twitter. You may be surprised what others are already saying about you, your brand, your products and your competitors.

ACT: Take the plunge and set up some accounts. Start with Facebook and Twitter then add to your armory as you get more comfortable.

TALK: Now it’s time to say something. Start small by retweeting or sharing what others are saying. You’ll get bolder as you go along by adding your own original content and thoughts. Share your knowledge and expertise with your friends and followers. The most influential participants give something of themselves to their audiences.

ENGAGE: Now it’s time to become a real participant. Comment on other people’s posts. Reply to people who talk to you or about you. Say thanks to those who pass your posts along.

SUSTAIN: Now you’re in the space you need to participate at a sustainable level. Have a strategy for how often and when you will be posting and commenting. Dedicate resources to the task. Make it part of your job, not just a tack-on at the end of the day that is quickly forgotten when things get busy.

Creative Territory offers a mentoring package to help executives get social online. The package includes an analysis of your business and personal needs, setting up your accounts, three hours of coaching at your desk and three months of ongoing support and mentoring. Contact tracy@creativeterritory.com to find out more.

Twittercue: 5 steps to engagement through social media. #PR #socialmedia http://tiny.cc/esguk

2000 Energy Audits to mark Alice Solar City birthday

Two thousand homeowners in Alice Springs have now undertaken a home energy audit, just as Alice Solar City celebrates its third birthday tomorrow.


Senior auditor with Alice Solar City, Lyndon Hodges, recently completed the 2000th energy audit in an uncanny coincidence as the project turns three.

“Alice Springs residents and business owners should be recognised and congratulated for their contribution to reducing the town’s energy use over the past three years”, says Brian Elmer, General Manager of Alice Solar City.

Since the project’s launch in March 2008, just over 2000 local residents and over 100 local businesses have joined the program, each receiving an energy audit, tailored advice and access to financial incentives to reduce their consumption and lower their bills.

Over 400 solar power systems have been installed on homes and businesses, and almost 600 solar hot water systems have been installed.

Just under $5 million in funding has been provided to homes and business to assist with the cost of installation measures to cut down their energy use.

“With Alice Solar City reaching the half way point of its scheduled life, our particular focus for 2011 will be on working with our existing residential and commercial participants to assess what actual savings and changes in behaviour they have been able to achieve”, said Brian Elmer.

“As part of that process, we will shortly be offering follow-up audits for our customers, which will help them to better understand their energy consumption patterns and find out other ways to reduce their bills.”

“By the end of the project we will have a good understanding of just how much energy the town has saved.”

Also completed as part of the Solar City project are two large iconic projects at Crowne Plaza and Alice Springs Airport, with two more underway at the new Alice Springs Aquatic Centre and the Uterne Solar Farm on the southern outskirts of town.

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.

Is spin really a bad thing - or does it just have a bad reputation?

By Tracy Jones

As a public relations professional, I’m often accused of being a “spin doctor”. Many of those who use the term do so in a disparaging way, coming from a view that all spin is “bad” and designed to mislead the audience.

But is that right? Is spin in itself a bad thing?

Consider this example:

• From one point of view: You work as a licensing inspector at the motor vehicle registry. You implement rules that make it harder for me to get a license and register my car. Your work costs me time and money.

• And from another: I work as a licensing inspector at the motor vehicle registry. I implement rules that ensure drivers and vehicles on our roads are safe. My work saves lives.

So which is spin and which is the truth?

The fact is, they’re both. Both these points of view tell the facts as they are. But they are overlaid with context that gives meaning to those facts. In the case of a licensed driver, the additional context is that rules and regulations do make it harder to get yourself and your car on the road. As an inspector, you know the job you do contributes to safer roads.

So spin is simply the telling of the truth from the context of your own position. You add meaning to the bare facts by putting them into context. And let’s face it, each of us tells the truth from our own viewpoint.

So why has “spin” attained such a bad reputation? And when is spin wrong?

• When it is designed to hurt or defame
• When it deliberately misleads or omits important parts of the truth
• When it is a lie.

There are ways to ensure your public relations consultant does not take you down the path of unethical spin doctoring.

Choose a professional who is a member of the Public Relations Institute of Australia or related world-wide professional body. They are bound by a Code of Ethics that prohibits them from such behaviour. And the Code is enforceable through the institute.

When choosing a consultancy, check they are a member of the Public Relations Institute of Australia’s Registered Consultancies Group. Not only are these consultancies bound by an additional Code of Conduct, their Managers are also required to ensure all employees act in an ethical manner.

*****************

Tracy Jones is the principal of Creative Territory, a Registered Consultancy Group member of the Public Relations Institute of Australia. She is a Fellow of the institute, a former National President and currently serves on the national board.

Taking Crisis Communication training to a new level with iPad

What do you do when the media is hammering at your door for a comment and all you want to do is hide? How will blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media networks make your job harder? And is it possible to talk yourself out of trouble?


These are questions Darwin based public relations agency Creative Territory is helping local companies answer through its new crisis communication workshops using iPads.

Recovery was developed by Creative Territory to help organisations work through the steps of a crisis without actually getting their fingers burned.

Creative Territory Managing Director Tracy Jones says the new training module is like a create your own adventure for crisis communication.

“We put participants through a simulated crisis with the iPad, allowing them to make choices about how to deal with the communication challenges that come along,” she said.

Recovery uses expert facilitators and iPad-based consoles to provide a safe environment in which participants can learn about how a crisis develops, grows and can be managed.

Drawing on Creative Territory’s extensive experience in dealing with major issues and crises here in the Territory, Recovery is the only crisis communication simulation that takes the special needs of the Territory into account.

It is an Australian first, using an iPad interface to take you through a crisis scenario, the end of which is determined by the decisions you make along the way.

For more information on Recovery contact Tracy at Creative Territory on 8941 9169.

Tracy Jones honored with President's Award

Creative Territory Managing Director Tracy Jones was honoured with the President's Award at the annual Public Relations Institute of Australia Golden Target awards last night.

The awards were announced in conjunction with the National Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) annual conference, which is being held in Darwin for the first time this week.

The President's Award recognises outstanding service to the PRIA and its President.

Tracy has been a member of the National Board of the PRIA since 2004 and is the current National Treasurer. She served for two years as National President until 2009.

For more information about the Golden Target Awards winners, see
http://www.pria.com.au/blog/id/996

Creative Territory's Jeannette Button honoured by PRIA

Creative Territory’s Jeannette Button will be inducted as a fellow of the Public Relations Institute of Australia tonight.


Fellowship is one of the highest honours bestowed on a member of the institute.

The induction ceremony comes just days after Jeannette was elected President of the NT Division of the PRIA.

Creative Territory’s managing director Tracy Jones said the team was proud of Jeannette’s achievements and wish her well as she now carries out duties at a national level.

“Jeannette is one of the Territory’s most senior and experienced public relations professionals and a role model for others,” Tracy said.

“She has chaired the National Conference Committee that arranged this week’s PRIA national conference, which is being held in Darwin for the first time."

Leadership and Mentoring

By Tracy Jones

When we think of great leaders and mentors, we often look at CEOs and presidents, prime ministers and chairmen. The people we regard as mentors tend to be our bosses – people in a position of power who we admire.

There's no doubt that these people often make great role models, but you’ll often find even more valuable mentors in unexpected places. Have a good look around at the people who have made an impact on you and how you work. There’s a good chance that while some will be employers, others will be colleagues, friends, employees and acquaintances.

Great leaders are not necessarily those who have reached the position of manager or CEO. Great leaders are those who demonstrate the qualities of leadership in their everyday work.

Leaders and mentors have many qualities – vision, empathy, confidence, passion and the ability to motivate and inspire others. You may see other qualities in leaders around you.

I hear a lot about the need for public relations professionals to have a seat at the "top table". My own view is that need to make our own seat at that table.

You don't have to be the CEO to be a leader. And you don’t need an invitation to provide great advice to those who need it.

As members of the Public Relations Institute of Australia, we have already demonstrated our commitment to our profession. The next step is to show leadership to our colleagues both within and outside of the PRIA.

And don't only look up for inspiration. Once you open your eyes you can find great mentors all around you.

As published in the PRIA National Newsletter September 2009.
Tracy is national president of the PRIA