The role involves leading accounts across sectors that include IT, corporate and consumer tech performing PR, marketing communication, social media, digital marketing and media.

The role will suit candidates with existing PR agency experience who are looking for an opportunity to grow and develop whilst working on blue chip clients.

If interested, please read further information about the new AM role.

In January, n2n communications was appointed in a competitive pitch by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) to run the public relations campaign for the switch from analogue to digital television. Working with the Department’s Digital Switchover Taskforce, n2n is delivering a comprehensive public relations and stakeholder campaign that commenced in the first switchover region, Mildura in January and will roll out around Australia over the next three years. The win follows a number of online and social media projects for a number of other government departments and agencies.

In addition, n2n communications has had rapid growth in its cleantech division with two new clients including Lend Lease’s venture capital business and a second multinational which join Better Place Australia, the leading electric vehicle infrastructure provider. Lend Lease’s venture capital business is Australia’s leading dedicated cleantech investor.  Backed by sustainability leader Lend Lease, the venture capital business invests in commercially viable growth companies operating in energy, water and building sectors.

Most recently, n2n communications has also been appointed to launch FetchTV into the Australian market. FetchTV is a new model for delivering subscription-TV as a wholesale, unmetered service via ISPs – combining the best from the broadcast world in terms of picture and content quality, and the best of the online world in terms of the delivery model and interactive services.

“Our strategy is to support our growth by expanding into sectors that value our deep understanding of technology, business and online and social media and provide innovative, challenging work for our team,” said Vanessa Liell, Managing Director, n2n communications. “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to work with companies that are global leaders and at the forefront of innovation.”

Vanessa was appointed Managing Director in January 2010 after 12 months acting in the role. n2n communications founder/owner Nicky Dowling is now Chair across n2n communications and its sister brand Fuel Communications headed by Mandy Galmes.

n2n communications has appointed four new consultants this year and is currently recruiting an account director/senior account manager.

n2n has been at the forefront of PR in this rapidly emerging industry.

 Effective communications in clean technology requires and understanding of

• global and local policy
• business and environmental issues related to the impact of carbon emissions and
• opportunities in developing sustainable solutions.

Australia is behind the US and Europe in the development of a robust clean tech sector. 

There are many factors that caused this – political, economic and social. This includes that many Australian businesses were waiting for the outcomes of Cop. 15 and the CPRS legislation, rather than pressing ahead amid uncertainty.  Capital funding has been hard to attract and the regulatory environment has provided a leg up to some sectors as the expense of others.

For this reason, we have less large-scale, robust clean tech providers than our overseas counterparts.

That said, this is changing fast.  There are now a number of leading global clean tech companies established in Australia, as well as numerous local innovators.

This includes n2n clients such as GE, Better Place and Lend Lease’s venture capital division that have solutions spanning everything renewables (wind, water, solar), to energy, coal and gas innovations, electric vehicles and funding.

From a media perspective, you can have journalists working across beats as diverse as motoring, finance, resources and technology all reporting on complex issues, markets and technologies.

The issues of relevance to TV and radio, differ markedly to those that apply in business and daily press, or dedicated social media sites.

In many overseas markets, the speed of development and unique attributes of the green technology industry has seen the emergence of dedicated journalists and sections within major publications/sites.

In the interim in Australia PR plays an important role to ensure that client innovation and developments are clearly understood by journalists, bloggers and other key stakeholders that are often covering clean tech as part of a diverse beat.

Regular briefings with media  including backgrounders and educational catch ups can help media, analysts and interested third parties stay abreast of the rapid developments in this space.

The role involves leading accounts across sectors that include IT, telecommunications, government, corporate and consumer tech performing PR, marketing communication, social media, digital marketing and media. 

If you are interested in the SAM role read more here.

At n2n we have been helping to create social media corporate policies for a growing number of clients. This involvement shows that the last 12 months have moved social media policy from a marketing wish to a boardroom issue to a PR action.

A recent Manpower survey states that one third of organisations now have a policy in place in Australia versus only a quarter globally. Good news for communications professionals trying to manage organisations online. Facebook, Twitter and increasingly LinkedIn are being acknowledged as well-utilised communications tools.

The key challenge for most social media policies is a lack of depth.

As long as guidelines remain focused on dos and don’ts, organisations are not equipping their staff with adequate recommendations on how to use social media as a sales and lead generation tool. At the moment, this proactive use of social media seems to be reserved for only a few in the organisation, resulting in a missed opportunity.

Beyond language and tone of voice, organisations must now start to give staff advice on how to join a relevant group discussion and how to create online engagement in a social media environment. Every employee has their own online networks – organisations now need to help their staff maximise the business opportunity of these networks via more sophisticated skill development.

There was an article praising Manchester City’s new manager, Roberto Mancini, acknowledging his success in turning the team’s fortunes around with four straight wins and suggesting his appointment was a long overdue masterstroke. The trouble is that since the article was written his side has been on a dismal run of form and he’s now widely predicted to be on the way out at the end of the season. 

The magazine was the current issue, but was almost immediately out of date. It can’t hope to compete with online news and opinion in an industry that moves so quickly.

There are obvious parallels with IT media. It’s another fast moving industry where online sites have become dominant in breaking news. Even that’s not quick enough for some with many online publications providing real-time updates on the iiNet vs AFACT court case via twitter.

That’s not to say that print publications are dead, it’s just that they are evolving and are re-evaluating the value that they provide. The number of titles that cover product news is almost zero and any news they do cover often takes a more analytical slant rather than simply reporting facts. The emphasis is definitely on analysis and opinion.

This works for me as I think most people (certainly Gen X and above) still prefer the feel of paper in their hands when reading, but the march of e-readers, iPads and smartphones may soon change this as well. So what is the future of the monthly magazine?

When it comes to writing and developing a PowerPoint presentation, 3 things ALWAYS race through my mind; How do I make it interesting? How do I clearly articulate my message in less than 50 words? How can I present it so it has impact?

Whether it’s for a new business pitch or an internal business meeting, it’s important we learn how to adequately prepare for, and deliver the most effective presentation which will ensure our audience (possibly a potential client) leaves the room feeling fulfilled and positive about their experience.

A common cliché is “people hear what they see”. Whilst this may be true, businesses tend to spend too much time on the writing of the presentation and cut themselves short on determining how they will present it and rehearsing. But what is more important? Or should it be a 50/50 ratio?

Key to a powerful presentation is in the delivery. A powerful presentation is how an impression is established. People relate to people. They don’t buy products, they buy personality and image.

Therefore, it’s crucial when delivering a presentation that it communicates to your audience in a way that generates interest. A powerful delivery helps people see the opportunity and connect at a personal level.

So when you are planning for you next business pitch, have a think about how much time you should dedicate to writing it vs. rehearsing it.

Share your worst PowerPoint presentation experience…

Social Media emerged as one of the most powerful communications tools in an integrated campaign that spanned letter box drops, Web, photo shoots at the site, media relations, lobbying, advertising and events.

The creation of a Facebook group where opponents could register their concerns and engage directly with Councillors (who participated in the group), attracted more than 2,600 members across the festive period when many locals were on holidays.

From a PR perspective, it meant we had a clearly defined database of engaged members from a range of target audiences and we could communicate with them quickly and affordably as the campaign progressed.

For example, wording for objection emails was distributed to the group with instructions on how to lodge a complaint ‘ccing organisers. This resulted more than 300 objections to council within three hours, and they continued for days.

Similarly, within three days of sending an invitation to attend a protest rally, we had more than 500 RSVPs and growing.

Social media was even used by the Mayor to announce her decision to withdraw the proposal. This meant organisers could cancel the protest rally – again, a quick, easy task via Facebook.

In a blog post, Waverley Council Mayor, Sally Betts said, “I was originally reticent about announcing my decision before the public exhibition period closed on Friday 19 February. However, the depth of community angst and concern has become increasingly clear. It would be irresponsible to not publicise my decision about this proposal as I believe the community deserves to know now, rather than later.

“Congratulations to the Hugh Bamford Reserve Protection Group for such a professional and well coordinated campaign, it’s the best I’ve seen in my 12 years as a Councillor, and it’s a sign of true democracy at work,” she said.

The SABRE (Superior Achievement in Branding and Reputation) Awards attracted close to 400 entries from across the region.

n2n’s program helped Sun outshine other global brands by using an integrated communications strategy that spanned research, media relations, stakeholder relations (including analysts and employees) online and social media.

The results included a significant increase in awareness, stakeholder endorsement and a number of major sales of Sun product.

This is the third award n2n has received for the campaign – others include PRIA state and national awards.

These awards would not have been possible if Sun did not have the foresight to embrace a comprehensive PR program at a time when Green IT was just marketing hype.

Congratulations to Sun and thank you to all the talented Sun people we have been fortunate to work with for many years.

Whilst it is interesting to consider the lifespan of content, were not totally convinced it is the right question to be asking, at least in isolation. Our view is that to change behaviours, build brand and influence an outcome you need to be involved in ongoing dialog and/or content generation, whether this is online or offline.

The initial question should be to determine what messages are required to reach your audience and what is the best channel to access them. The lifespan of the content is a secondary consideration that should be evaluated with characteristics such as:

• Reach – how many people will read it
• Relevance – is the content relevant to the audience
• Accessibility – Significant amounts of content on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook cannot be accessed by all web users as it sits behind passwords.

Online news site content for instance is generally available for a long time and also receives a very high audience reach. The trade off is that you can’t control the content on news sites as it is written by journalists.

The lifespan of blog content is also long term and is always searchable. This content is ideal for search engine optimisation (SEO) and generating long-term traffic. Website content also has a very long lifespan, generally until you take it down.

Twitter has a relatively short lifespan, although Twitter is also a mechanism to extend the reach of your content. Social media monitoring (SMM), RSS feeds and Google news feeds all extend the reach of Twitter and other online information, meaning the content achieves additional reach.

On the surface Facebook content would seem to have a short lifespan; however the business opportunity is more related to building long term dialogue.

Like a physical ‘one on one’ conversation, the comments a person makes have a very short existence however collectively build an overall lasting impression. You may not recall every specific comment made from a person however you will have a perception built by their communication and behaviour.

In the corporate world, creating relevant and interesting content impacts your customers and stakeholders impressions. Despite the short lifespan of your online updates, we recommend you actively use online tools like Facebook and Twitter to build customer engagement which results in brand trust and ongoing customer support.

So consider the longevity of online content in context of your communication objective and don’t forget to include evaluation of reach, relevance and accessibility.