Some thought-provoking points were raised at a lunch I recently hosted in a discussion about the role of social media and how it impacts on traditional news reporting. Read More

As I mentioned in my last blog, I recently spoke with a number of journalists about their preferences in receiving information from organisations, and some of their likes and dislikes. Read More

From time to time, clients ask me whether a draft media release is too long or whether it is too short and needs to be expanded. It’s a good question and one to which there is no simple answer other than “a media release should be as long as it needs to be”. Read More

In public relations, we talk about managing perception, because what people think about an issue is often more important than the reality. Read More

Why is it that organisations like to include information about themselves in an explicit way in media statements and announcements that would be more effective if it were implicit? Read More

With a big turnover expected in financial planning businesses as babyboomer owners retire and other changes come into effect, the sector can learn from mistakes made in other professions about preserving goodwill. Read More

Email and the internet have made communicating with different groups of stakeholders much easier. Indeed in the past, cost and production issues were real inhibitors to simultaneous distribution of messages. Read More

We can expect to see new superannuation legislation (again!) as well as the possibility of tougher regulation to protect investors – hopefully providing greater investor protection following the collapse of a number of investment schemes where investors lost capital. On top of this, there are a number of other issues that financial services operations will need to deal with. Read More

The financial services industry has traditionally been good at using public relations. Most companies in the area understand the importance and value of communication with clients and influencers, and make a commitment to public relations in their marketing budget. Read More

Results of some interesting surveys looking at attitudes to financial planners were released in recent weeks which, together, tell a story of interest to all personal services businesses. Read More

It surprises me how often the basics of good communications – getting the right information to the right people, in a way that they want to receive it – get forgotten or sidelined. Read More

With more media coverage this week following a directional hearing on the sexual harassment charges against David Jones and its former chief executive, I’m wondering just how much the issue will harm the David Jones brand? Read More

We’ve all had the experience of talking with executives who are clearly very intelligent and know their stuff very well, but who are pretty much incomprehensible because they insist on using big words mixed with jargon. Read More

It annoys me that, over the years, the term “spin doctoring” has become synonymous with public relations. The thing that rankles is that to most people, “spin” means the art of misleading or even deceiving – especially in a political context. Read More

I’ve heard a number of references recently to “boutique fund managers”, often suggesting a different meaning of the term than my understanding of it. Read More

I was talking to a journalist the other day who was disparaging about a media release he’d received from someone else, because of poor grammar in a couple of spots and careless spelling mistakes Read More