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Media release: IG Markets Appoints First Rate to its SEM Account

Catriona Pollard - Thursday, March 11, 2010
Leading online marketing agency, First Rate has been appointed by IG Markets, Australia’s largest specialist in Contracts for Difference (CFD) and Foreign Exchange trading, to manage and drive its Search Engine Marketing (SEM) program. 

First Rate won the company’s SEM account after a fiercely-contested bid process, involving several other agencies from Sydney and Melbourne.

The veteran online marketing agency, which has 40 staff and offices in Sydney and Auckland, will begin working on the IG Markets account in March.

Tom Skotidas, head of marketing at First Rate said, “We are proud to be working with IG Markets, a recognised market leader in CFD and forex trading. We will be using all of our agency’s search marketing experience and technology to maintain and grow IG Market’s market share, in CFDs and forex.”

Mr Tamas Szabo, CEO of IG Markets said “With the aim of leading our category, we have engaged First Rate to run the PPC strategy for IG Markets.”

“After spending time researching the market, we believe that First Rate are the preeminent Search Engine Marketing agency and their commitment to leading technology and innovation fits well with our own business model. We are excited to form this partnership,” said Mr Szabo. 

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First Rate is one of Australia’s leading online marketing agencies, specialising in Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and performance online advertising.  They are recognised as leaders in developing strategies and tactics that help their clients dominate the search engines and grow their online market share.

First Rate works with many of Australia’s leading blue chip brands.  Its clients are spread over 50 industries including retail / e-tail, financial services, education, energy, travel, and CRM.

IG Markets specialises in financial derivatives, principally Contracts for Difference (CFDs) on shares and indices, as well as being a leading dealer in margined Foreign Exchange. Their clients include brokers, fund managers and trading companies as well as private investors.  IG Markets is part of the IG Group, a UK FTSE 250 member with over 75,000 active clients worldwide. The group has offices in Melbourne, London, Singapore, Chicago, Dusseldorf, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Tokyo and Stockholm. 
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Media Release: First Rate Wins GraysOnline SEO Account

Catriona Pollard - Thursday, March 11, 2010
Online marketing agency, First Rate has been appointed to manage and drive the search engine optimisation (SEO) account of GraysOnline.

First Rate won the company’s SEO account after a competitive bid process, involving several other agencies.

The veteran online marketing agency, which has 40 staff and offices in Sydney and Auckland, will commence work in March.  First Rate’s goal is to optimise GraysOnline natural search engine rankings and online traffic.

Tom Skotidas, head of marketing at First Rate said, “We are proud to be working with GraysOnline, a leader in Australian online retail and auctions.” 

“We are planning to deploy all of our agency’s SEO experience and resources to ensure GraysOnline maintains and grows its natural traffic, and dominates its key product categories.”

GraysOnline is an online retail and auction company selling products across more than 80 categories, from IT & consumer electronics and wine to automotive and mining equipment.

GraysOnline group marketing manager, Westley Stringfellow, said: “After a thorough search for an SEO partner, we chose First Rate because of their industry-leading experience and track record in delivering excellent SEO results for their clients. We are looking forward to working with the First Rate team.”

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First Rate is one of Australia’s leading online marketing agencies, specialising in search engine optimisation (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), and performance online advertising.  They are recognised as leaders in developing strategies and tactics that help their clients dominate the search engines and grow their online market share.

First Rate works with many of Australia’s leading blue chip brands.  Its clients are spread over 50 industries including retail / e-tail, financial services, education, energy, travel, and CRM.

GraysOnline is an Australian online retail and auction company, offering a huge range of consumer, industrial and commercial goods, direct from manufacturers and distributors. With a heritage spanning over 100 years, GraysOnline have always been pioneers in creating the most efficient way for buyers and sellers to connect – from their traditional auction heritage to their first online auctions back in 2000. 
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Great coverage for our client, Starlight Cinema, on Nova 96.9FM

Catriona Pollard - Tuesday, March 09, 2010

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CP Communications Director, Catriona Pollard, talks about networking in the latest edition of the Australian Career Practitioner

Catriona Pollard - Tuesday, March 09, 2010
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Media Release: Social Media Women, unite!

Catriona Pollard - Monday, March 08, 2010
Social Media Women, a formal networking group that will encourage and assist women to participate more prominently in social media has been launched today on International Women’s Day.

Having recognised the important role women play in social media, the group will give women a voice in all areas of social media.  It’s a place to connect and share to support each other and build a community.

Co-founder of Social Media Women, Catriona Pollard says, “Social media comes naturally to women. We are networkers, nurturers, gatherers, builders of villages and communicators.” 

“Women want inspiration and collaboration, support and confidence. They don’t want self proclaimed social media guru’s pushing them to the sidelines.” 

“With Social Media Women we have created a safe place for women to gain experience and confidence to ask questions, learn and challenge themselves to grow, evolve and aspire.”

“It’s a strategic group. It’s more than just talking about social media tools. It's about taking a step back and seeing the big picture. It’s about collaboration and nurturing of ideas and creating change from them,” said Ms Pollard.

The founding members are Nancy Georges (Magnolia Solutions), Catriona Pollard (CP Communications) and Kristin Rohan (Sassy SEO). 

Social Media Women is both online and in person, with meetings taking place on the second Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm.  

Social Media Women welcomes all women whether working on their own or in an existing company, business, organisation or still studying. It’s for women that are interested in media, networking, communications and exploring the new ways people are communicating. 

At the meeting along with social media discussions, public speaking and networking opportunities, an open forum will also be held to toss around ideas for speaking topics as conferences arise.  This will lend to the group’s lobbying efforts to secure more female speakers at social media conferences.

The first meeting will be Tuesday 9 March at Blues Point Hotel, 116 Blues Point Rd, McMahons Point 2060. To register: http://socialmediawomen.eventbrite.com/  
Linkedin Groups: Social Media Women
Facebook: Social Media Women

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Media Release: Flickerfest’s celebrated best of Australian shorts programme screening at ME Bank Starlight Cinema!

Catriona Pollard - Friday, March 05, 2010

ME Bank Starlight Cinema is presenting the award-winning Best Of Australian Shorts programme from the famous Bondi Flickerfest to North Sydney Oval on Sunday 14 March.
 
Producer of ME Bank Starlight Cinema, Jill Keyte said “We’re thrilled to be showing the Best of Australian Shorts from Flickerfest this season and presenting directors, Chris Kezelos and Hannah Hilliard, and producers, Christine Kezelos and Linda Micsko.”
 
“They will be speaking about making and showing their films. Their panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A session,” said Ms Keyte.
 
Director of Flickerfest, Bronwyn Kidd said “Flickerfest received over 1600 entries in 2010 making us Australia’s largest short film competition and the only one with Academy® accreditation.”
 
A total of 97 short films were selected in competition and the ‘Best Of Australian Shorts programme’ represents the cream of the crop of Australian shorts, demonstrating the outstanding talent that exists in Australia’s local short film community.
 
“The programme has been embraced by audiences from Byron Bay to Alice Springs, along the 25-venue national tour and now we are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Flickerfest over the bridge to North Sydney for one last Sydney screening of these fabulous shorts,” said Ms Kidd.
 
Screening in the programme is recent Berlin Film Festival hit and winner Franswa Sharl.
This film won a top prize at the Berlinale – the Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film, continuing it’s runaway success after winning the IF Media Award for most Popular Film at Flickerfest 2010. The Crystal Bear is voted by the Youth Jury.
 
“We have fingers crossed for another highlight of this programme, Miracle Fish, for the film’s recent Oscar® nomination. We wish director Luke Doolan and producer Drew Bailey all the best for the ceremony on Sunday 7 March,” said Ms Kidd.
 
Other highlights screening in this programme include Celestial Avenue – winner of the Madman Award for Best Australian Short Film at Flickerfest 2010, and IF Award-winning Ralph, directed by much- loved Australian actress Deborah Mailman.
 
Gate opens at 6.30pm.
Meet the Filmmakers: 7.00-7.45pm
Films commence at 8.00pm
 
For event details visit http://www.mebankStarlightCinema.com.au and check out the Events page. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Gate of North Sydney Oval on Sunday 14 March.
 
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BEST OF AUSTRALIAN SHORTS full programme:

ZERO
Australia/13min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR: Christopher Kezelos
PROD: Christine Kezelos
In a world that judges people by their number ZERO faces constant prejudice and persecution. He walks a lonely path until a chance encounter changes his life forever: He meets a female zero. Together they prove that through determination courage and love... nothing can be truly something.
Winner Gold Award - Australian Cinematography Society 2009
Australian premiere Flickerfest 2010
 
RALPH
Australia/10min/Video/2009
DIR: Deborah Mailman
WRI: Deborah Mailman and Wayne Blair
PROD: Jessie Mangum
For Maddie, it will take more than just dreaming about the Karate Kid, to survive school, it will take a friend.
Best Short Film - IF Awards, 2009; Message Sticks indigenous Film Festival
 
BOXER
Australia/12min/Video/2008
WRI/DIR: Michael Latham
PROD: Lester Francois
With the speed and grace of a middle middle-aged man, Gary navigates his golf buggy through a giant warehouse only to encounter a defiantly misplaced box. Gary’s desire to organise and neatly shelve the box leads him to discover that there is something in the box... and it’s alive.
Nominated Best Short Film Dendy Awards - Sydney Film Festival 2009; Accelerator Program - Melbourne Film Festival 2009
 
MIRACLE FISH
Australia/18min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR: Luke Doolan
PROD: Drew Bailey
8 year-old Joe has a Birthday he will never forget. After friends tease him he sneaks off to the sick bay wishing everyone in the world would go away. He wakes up to find his dream may have become a reality.
Academy® Award Nomination 2010; Movie Extra Special Jury Award & Miller Australia Award for Best Cinematography, Flickerfest 2010; Sundance Film Festival 2009; Winner Youth Jury Prize, LA Award - Aspen International Film Festival 2009; Dendy Award for Best Live Action Short 2009; Craft Award + SBS Television Award - St Kilda Film Festival 2009; AFI Award for Best Short Film 2009
 
CELESTIAL AVENUE
Australia/20min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR: Colin & Cameron Cairnes
PROD: Scott Alexander
Kath has been looking for love in all the wrong places. Then she finds herself in Chinatown. In the middle of a less than successful blind date she overhears the soulful Cantonese singing of kitchen-hand Ah Gong. Kath is intrigued. But is there more to Ah Gong than meets the eye? Celestial Avenue is an offbeat tale‚ part karaoke video part cross-cultural comedy about love personal reinvention and startled pigeon.
Madman Award for Best Australian Short Film - Flickerfest 2010; Talent Assist Award - SPAA 2009; Grand Prize – Rhode Island International Film Festival
Australian Premiere Flickerfest 2010

THE NOT NOT-SO SO-GREAT EUGENE GREEN
Australia/13min/Video/20 2009 09
DIR: Michael Hill
WRI: Michael Hill and Jamie Messenger
PROD: Melanie Brunt
Eugene Green is a strange elderly man with a simple dream: to entertain his world through the art of vocal sound effects. Unfortunately he has an annoyingly small repertoire.
Sydney Film Festival 2009; Revelation Perth International Film Festival 2009; Nominated for Best Animation Short - AFI Awards 2009
 
CROSSROAD
Australia/8min/Video/2008
WRI:Michael Hoath
DIR/PRO: Maziar Lahooti
A nobody becomes a local hero when he rescues two kids from a car wreck.
Western Australian Screen Awards 2009
 
TWO MEN
Australia/4min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR/PROD: Dominic Allen
One man sees another man running towards him and ponders his motives.
Australian Dendy Short Film Finalist 2009; Best Shorts Winner  - MIFF 2009
 
FRANSWA SHARL
Australia/14min/35mm/2009
DIR: Hannah Hilliard
WRI: Hannah Hilliard & Greg Logan
PROD: Linda Micsko
Twelve-year old Greg has inherited his father’s competitive streak. On a family holiday to Fiji they have different ideas about where Greg should focus his talents. When his creative pursuits fail to amuse his father Greg sets out to win him back. Based on a true story.
World Premiere & IF Media Award for Most Popular Film, Flickerfest 2010; Crystal Bear – Berlin International Film Festival 2010
Duration: 112 minutes
 

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CP Communications Newsletter- PR Tips & News 2 March 2010

Catriona Pollard - Thursday, March 04, 2010
Last week I took a day off from my business. Not to plan or strategise or do my BAS. I did a basket weaving class. (Which, BTW, is way cooler than making a macramé owl!)

I am a very arty crafty kind of girl. I love creating, building and making things and I am in a creative business. So creativity is important to me – both in my work and outside of work.

But I can get very caught up in the day-to-day activities of my business. Meeting deadlines, writing plans and articles, speaking with clients…the list goes on. If I get too caught up in this it can negatively affect my creativity.

So I spent a day weaving a basket.

As I was weaving iris leaves through palm leaves and seeing the basket take shape it made me realise that creativity is about letting go. If it turned out to be something I would have brought home from primary school to proudly show my parents, then so be it.  At one point I thought – “geez I’m not showing anyone this”. But I let go and slowly what I had in my mind came to life.

So I can recommend putting creative days into your year, or even hours into your week. It will certainly help in all aspects of your work (and life).

PS. I am in a kayaking team for the Lifestart Kayak for Kids which is an inspirational paddling challenge on Sydney Harbour. It raises funds for kids who have an intellectual disability or developmental delay. It’s a 17.5km course running from Blues Point to Clontarf and takes place on 28 March. We would love your support through a donation.

PPS. Love going to the movies? The best movie theatre at the moment is outdoors at Starlight Cinema! To thank you, our loyal readers and your wonderful feedback, we are giving away 5 double passes to any session at Starlight Cinema. Email me with your details and the first 5 people will receive the tickets.

Brainstorm your way to creativity

In PR, or any business for that matter, we are constantly looking for new ideas, new angles, new products and new ways to service clients, because creativity gives businesses an edge. It keeps things innovative, interesting and drives business forward. Without creativity we’d be seeing and hearing the same old thing.

So what can we do to expand our creative thinking? There are a number of different techniques and the most common approach is brainstorming. Our clients find our brainstorming sessions for PR and social media strategy very enlightening.

The purpose of brainstorming is to write down ideas and solutions in a structured or unstructured way to find out some possible options. It’s a way for people to stimulate each other’s creativity and produce an array of ideas. If a brainstorming session is with a group make sure you have a leader and a scribe.

Here are some rules to guide you through a brainstorming session:

Do not criticise
This is important if you want your team to speak up. A team member may not share any more ideas if their first idea is ridiculed in front of others. Take on each idea and discuss the more practical ones later. Encourage a positive and uncritical attitude among the group members.

Quantity is key
The more ideas you have, the more you can work from and the broader your imagination can span.

Build on ideas presented
The ideas being shared in the brainstorming session can arouse more ideas. Modifying, combining or elaborating ideas will lead to more specific solutions. This can take the idea into a new direction or simply make the original idea better.

Want to know more techniques to drive creativity in your organisation? Read the full story in Public Relations Sydney.

Taking the first step into social media

More and more businesses are using social media because it gives them another avenue to connect with customers. There are so many social media applications to choose from, but with all the options, how do you determine which ones best suits your business? Here are a few questions to answer and points to think about while creating your social media strategy.

Why social media? What do you want to accomplish using social media?
You need to define your objectives on why you want to use social media. Are you joining to make more contacts within your industry? Do you want to build on your relationships using an online medium?

Which social media application is best for you?
Take a look at the characteristics of each social media outlet and see which of those support what you want to accomplish. Some options include social networking sites (i.e. Facebook), real-time updates or micro-blogs (i.e. Twitter), blogs, social news websites, just to name a few.

Do you have something to share?
Social media is about sharing content and information, as well as making connections with others. This connectivity is a way to build your relationships and meet new contacts. What is it you want to share?

Who will maintain your social media presence? Do you have resources to keep it up?
Do you have the resources to keep updating your social media profiles? Will you or someone at your company update content, so your ideas and what you have to share is fresh?

Read the full article on our CP Communications blog

Upcoming events

Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:

The 65K 4 65 Roses Walkathon 2010
This event will take place around the famous ‘Bay Run’ spanning the foreshore of Drummoyne, Five Dock, Leichhardt and Rozelle. It raises funds and much needed awareness for Cystic Fibrosis NSW.
6 March 2010

ad:tech Sydney
ad:tech Sydney is the leading digital marketing and advertising event in Australia and New Zealand. This year the event has the most impressive line-up of speakers including our client Josh Frith from @www who is speaking on Branded Content: What It Means And How It Will Affect The Future Of Your Brand
16-17 March 2010

Focusing Your Social Media Efforts – the ‘Hub and Spoke’ Approach
Hear a range of speakers discussing their views on different approaches to social media including Leading analyst organisation, Forrester’s- “hub and spoke” approach: a strategy that focuses on maximizing leverage from the corporate Web site and integrates with public community Web sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for greater reach, impact and efficiency.
24 March 2010

Search Marketing Conference & Expo Sydney
Learn all about search engine marketing and social media. Speakers at this event include the founders of 3 Dog Media & Rank Mobile, as well as the VP of Search-Position Technologies, just to name a few. 
22-23 April 2010

Business and Public Relations Writing
Run by the Australian Marketing Institute, this two-day intensive workshop aims to equip participants with a variety of writing techniques and skills for business and public relations purposes. In particular the areas of media release writing, corporate profiles, and producing copy for websites and newsletters.
5 - 6 May 2010 

Click here to sign up to receive the CP Communications newsletter directly in your inbox every second Tuesday morning.


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Social Media Strategy Checklist

Catriona Pollard - Monday, March 01, 2010
More and more businesses are using social media because it gives them another avenue to connect with customers.

There are so many social media outlets to choose from, but with all the options, how do you determine which ones best suits your business? 

Before you sign up and start tweeting or facebooking, you should think about the social media strategy. This means taking time to stop and think about what you want to accomplish. It’s pointless to create accounts for every social media outlet without a clear understanding of your objectives.

Here are a few questions to answer and points to think about while creating your social media strategy.

• Describe your business 
If you can’t describe your business and value you have to offer in a sentence, how will potential new customers know what you do? You will need to do this first.

• Why social media? What do you want to accomplish using social media? 
You need to define your objectives on why you want to use social media. Are you joining to make more contacts within your industry? Do you want to build on your relationships using an online medium? Would you like more engagement from your current customers? Do you want others in your industry to know you’re up to date with technology and trends? Whatever your reason, you’re bound to find an outlet that suits your business; the options are plentiful. 

• What social media outlets are best for you?
There are many different options when choosing social media outlets.  Some options include social networking sites (i.e. Facebook), real-time updates or micro-blogs (i.e. Twitter), blogs, social news websites, just to name a few. You need to examine the characteristics of each social media outlet and see which of those support what you want to accomplish. For example, if your goal was to make new contacts with other business professionals in your industry, perhaps LinkedIn would be an outlet to consider.

• Do you have something to share?
Social media is about sharing content and information, as well as making connections with others. This connectivity is a way to build your relationships and meet new contacts. Do you have something interesting to share? Do you have news? Do you have information that is relevant and fascinating? Having something to share will encourage people to keep coming back for more. 

• How will you drive people to participate?
You can have multiple social media accounts and link them to each other to expand your business’ profile. Do you have something share? Sharing content and information will encourage your contacts to participate in dialogue with you, whether it’s posting a comment on your blog or inviting others to read your information ongoing participation will lead to more interest. Participation is a two-way street, if you make the effort your customers will too, thus building stronger relationships.

• Prepare to lose control of your brand
Putting your brand out there will provoke debates, opinions and comments that might not necessarily be favorable. Are you prepared to lose control of the conversations about your business (even just a little)?

• Who will maintain your social media presence? Do you have resources to keep it up?
Do you have the resources to keep updating your social media profiles? Will you or someone at your company update content, so your ideas and what you have to share is fresh?

• How will you measure success? 
Do you have a metrics system in place that can measure the effectiveness of your social media activity? Will you look at the quality of each comment made to determine if they’re positive, neutral or negative, how will you rate these? Will you be measuring your profile views or how many followers or subscribers you have? Have any business transactions happened as a result of your online conversations? If your goal was to build relationships with other contacts, are you doing this and are your relationships positive? You need some sort of measuring system to tell you whether or not social media is having a positive effect on your business.

Social media is making a big impact on how we do business. Take time out to think about why you want to use it, what outlets are best for you are and how you’re going to measure success. 
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