Click here to see the highlights from the Digital Revolution - is Traditional Media Dead? Networx Event.

It's not just politicians, celebrities and brands who are harnessing the power of social media. Twitterers, bloggers, podcasters and Facebook users from more than 80 countries are getting behind Earth Hour in unprecedented numbers to say they will 'vote Earth' and resist climate change.

Whilst Earth Hour's online "friends" might be saving the world, there are plenty of people out there who still haven't joined the social networking party. If you're yet to create a Facebook profile, navigate the blogosphere or understand Twitter, our April Networx will enlighten you!

We're delighted to welcome three talented online aficionados to our panel:

Asher Moses, Technology reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald and former Young Online Journalist of the Year. 

Rae Mozejko, Senior Account Manager at Communicator Interactive, the marketing company responsible for the mobile component of the 2007 Smirnoff Experience campaign.

Phil Beringer, the Brand Manager at Snack Brands Australia responsible for the 'Samboy is Back' re-launch.

We’ll hear how pioneering fashion label Cue targets professional women of all generations and how Senior Agency gets the attention of the lucrative Boomer market. Leading online magazine Trendspotting will give us the scoop on what’s hot for the i and Y generations.

We’re delighted to be joined by Kirsty Brockhoff, Marketing and PR Manager for Cue Clothing Co. Cue recently made headlines with their ‘Cue Turns 40′ campaign, which asked customers to submit photos of themselves in their favourite Cue outfit from the last forty years. The resulting book, Cue & You, is a testament to the brand’s popularity with generations of women, and features an assortment of happy snaps from women in the swinging 60s, to the shoulder-padded 80s and the smart-casual noughties. Kirsty will talk about the strategy behind Cue’s success at winning the loyalty of women of all ages.

We’ll also be joined by Chris Cormack, Managing Director for Senior Agency, an authority on the Baby Boomer market. Chris will talk about a range of brand campaigns that may at first glance seem boring or ghoulish, but that have attracted front page media coverage and the involvement of celebrities including Jane Fonda and Jackie Collins. In addition to talking about Angus & Robertson, bequest programme IAC (Include a Charity) and Hearing Life (a hearing care service), on the night Chris will reveal two very high profile retail campaigns currently in the marketplace – watch this space!

Our Gen Y ambassador is Aldous Massie of Trendspotting, the online magazine that has forecast the arrival of trends ranging from guerilla gardening and eco-chic weddings to Sonic Chairs and capes as this winter’s must-have fashion item. Although edited in Sydney, Trendspotting works with talented contributors around the globe who are influencers in the fields of hospitality, design and environmental conservation.

Our panel discussion will examine:

This fun and informative evening will offer plenty of networking opportunities, expert advice and opportunities to ask questions.

Tickets are $60, which includes a complimentary drink on arrival, canapés, and the chance to win a lucky door prize!

Please join us on Wednesday 27 May at Altitude Bar @ Shelbourne Hotel for Generation Marketing: From iGeneration to Baby Boomers!

To book, call 02 9957 1519 or visit www.networxevents.com.au.

The event provided not only great tips and strategies for marketing to specific generations but also provided a chance to mingle with other professionals in the marketing industry.

Our terrific speakers Kirsty Brockhoff , Chris Cormack and Aldous Massie contributed to an insightful discussion about generation marketing and we hope you all got a lot out of it.

Kirsty Brockhoff, Marketing and PR Manager at Cue gave fantastic examples  of how they have successfully targeted women ranging from Generation Y to the Baby Boomers.

Meanwhile, The Senior Agency’s Chris Cormack showed us just how influential the often over looked Baby Boomers really are.

Finally, Aldous Massie, the ‘Gen Y’ representative gave his opinion on how marketers can better appeal to a younger generation and provided examples of corporations doing it well (and those doing it not so well!).

As the video highlights are now up online from the event we would like to thank everyone again for coming and hope to see you at our next Networx event in June.

Please click here to see the video highlights from our June event.

Perfect the art of the pitch at June’s Networx event, entitled ‘Maximise the Media’. Learn what it is that journalists look for in a story from our expert panel of commentators from the fields of print, radio and television. Together, they will offer detailed insights into the inner workings of the media and how you can achieve maximum cut-through for your client.

The event will take place at Level 1 @ Watershed Hotel from 6pm on 30 June.

Stay tuned for our exciting media line-up!

We are delighted to be joined by GRAZIA magazine’s Fashion Features Director Edwina McCann, whose seventeen years experience has included working at Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, and The Australian.

Also joining us will be Executive Producer of Mornings With Kerri-Anne Jebby Phillips, whose career in television has seen her work on Today, Ten News and News Week as well as a range of talk and lifestyle shows.

Join us at The Watershed, Darling Harbour on Tuesday 30 June from 6:00pm. This event was a sell-out last year – so book today to ensure you don’t miss out!

Please call 02 9957 1519 to book!

If you haven’t yet booked your place, call 9957 1519 to reserve your spot now!

How do you inspire someone to swim two-and-a-half miles to ask Richard Branson to donate a million dollars for your cause?

What does it take to prompt half a million conversations about a new Uncle Toby’s fruit bar in its first month of launch?

Please join us for our 11 August Networx event where we will hear from marketing experts who have created Buzz through PR and Word of Mouth Marketing, including:

This event will sell out – as it has previously – so book online today and ensure you don’t miss out.

Networx gets underway from 6.00pm, so please join us for a complimentary drink on arrival and networking through until 6.30pm when we’ll then be seated for the panel discussion and questions. Stick around for another drink and meet new people, with the bar open until 8.30pm.

To book, please visit networx.eventbrite.com!

See you there!

Find out at our September 22 Networx event, when we invite three inspirational individuals to share the secrets of their success in our Creative Entrepreneurs panel.  We’ll hear from an Aussie beach bum now running a global swimwear empire, one of Australia’s most sophisticated PR mavens, and the brains behind one of the world’s leading online flower and giftwares businesses.

Our entrepreneur panelists include:

Book online today at networx.eventbrite.com and ensure you don’t miss out.

Networx gets underway from 6.00pm, so please join us for a complimentary drink on arrival and networking through until 6.30pm when we’ll then be seated for the panel discussion and questions. Stick around for another drink and meet new people, with the bar open until 8.30pm.

See you there!

The four media experts included: Sun-Herald Chief of Staff, Melissa Singer, Kyle & Jackie O Show producer, Bruno Bouchet, Cosmopolitan magazine Fashion Director, Nicole Adolphe and author of Dealing With Grumpy Editors, Dan Kaufman. 

Bruno Bouchet, shared tips on what it takes to get coverage on Australia's most popular breakfast radio show, the Kyle and Jackie O Show! Bruno recommends pitching controversial stories, being quirky in your pitching and said, “radio drops are a distraction, don’t do them!”

Nicole Adolphe, from Cosmopolitan magazine explained what she looked for in product pitches and shared her thoughts on what makes an impressive launch event. Nicole said, “events make you remember a brand! Have the product there, introduce your spokesperson and be sure to keep speeches at  your event short!”

Dan Kauffman, who is the author of Dealing With Grumpy Editors has seen every mistake a PR can make. He outlined what does and doesn't work when it comes to getting clients into the media. Dan doesn’t recommend using PDF’s to send media releases. “Word documents are better as they are easier to find when searching for a filed press release.” He also said good subject lines are important and cautioned against burying your lead in the bottom of your media release. For those of you a who liked what they heard, you can purchase Dan’s book here http://mediasurvival.com/

Last but not least, Melissa Singer revealed what makes a good news story in the Sun-Herald and how to get a Chief of Staff on your side. Melissa also said  “the subject line is so important, you must grab their attention here!”

We hope all of you PR people out there, are putting your newly discovered PR survival tips to good practice! Stay tuned to @networxsydney to find out about our next Networx event.

The Networx website won the top award for the following categories: 'Events' and 'Professional Services':

The IMA judges evaluated websites based on five criteria: Design, Content, Feature Functionality, Usability and Standards Compliance. 

The Best in Class award is descibed by Interactive Media Awards as:

"The Best in Class award is the highest honor bestowed by the Interactive Media Awards. It represents the very best in planning, execution and overall professionalism. In order to win this award level, your site had to successfully pass through our comprehensive judging process, achieving very high marks in each of our judging criteria - an achievement only a fraction of sites in the IMA competition earn each year."

Vivo Group was successful in other categories too.  Congratulations to David Steel and the Vivo team on a deserving win!

The panel included: Social Media Analyst and Partner at SR7, James Griffin, Owner and Creative Director of The Messenger Group, Lisa Messenger, Digital Head of Text 100, Karalee Evans, and Douglas Nicols, Owner and Creative Partner at The Works.

Our speakers shared insights on the best ways for brands to properly utilise social media to build brand image, from Facebook to Twitter and everything in between.

James Griffin discussed one of the hottest topics in social media right now; how to deal with negative feedback. He advised our guests not to ignore negative feedback and to follow the rule of three A’s: Acknowledge, Act and Advise. More often than not they’re complaining for a reason so it’s better to resolve the issue than ignore it!

It was great to hear Lisa Messenger’s personal account of how she promoted herself on social media. She emphasised the importance of creating a conversation between your brand and the audience, asking for opinions and interacting with your followers will help to keep them involved and interested.

Some more great advice came from Karalee Evans who reminded us that it’s important to be transparent when using sponsors and ambassadors to promote brands via social media. It’s also vital to remember that anything you post online can be accessed easily; even posts that you’ve deleted can be found in no time at all.

Douglas Nicols gave an in-depth recount of the process his team used when developing the ACT Tourism’s ‘The Human Brochure’ campaign. He explained that by inviting 500 people to visit Canberra and share their opinions on social media they will be creating an online brochure of real thoughts and experiences that could influence others to visit Australia’s Capital Territory.

The night was a success with our guests taking the chance to question our speakers on important hot topics such as the changes to Facebook regulations and the social media ‘troll’ inciting action against brands and media personalities online.

Thank you to our speakers for sharing their expertise and thank you to our guests for attending, we look forward to seeing you at the next event in November.

Our panel included; Carl Moggridge, Communications Director at Naked Communications, John Batistich, Marketing Director at Westfield Group, Shani Langi, Managing Director at PLAY Communications and lastly Alex Hayes, Editor from leading industry Magazine, B&T.

The speakers shared their opinions on 2012’s “best practice” with regards to innovative campaigns and projects, and discussed predictions on trends in social media and experiential marketing for 2013.

John Batistch gave a truly informative perspective on future trends, he spoke about seeing the distinction between offline and online become obsolete, as well as seeing the emphasis on ROI and bottom line shifting to creating a consumer journey that is genuine, unique and valuable.

Shani Langi discussed star campaigns for the year, emphasising the power of “sharing” and the “cyclical” way great campaigns have the ability to continue long after their launch. Shani also shared her predictions on the staying power of shock marketing believing it has an essential presence in 2013.

Carl Moggridge stressed the importance of consumer focused strategy and reminded attendees that following every trend is a waste, ensure you think hard about where YOUR consumers are and customise relevant content specifically for that channel. Carl also argued that social media influencers are only part of the plan, adding that you need to design campaigns where the idea will spread.

To the delight of attendees, Alex Hayes gave exclusive insights into the secrets/characteristics of award-winning strategies, without saying too much, he listed innovation, original and unique content and making sure the message is actually received! Millions of views or likes doesn’t always translate into message received!

The panel concluded by urging the audience “to be adaptable”, wise words for the new year direct from some of the industry’s best!

 
2UE Breakfast Content Manager, Sophie Onikul was a real joy to have and revealed what it takes to get your brand or client talked about on breakfast radio. “It’s all about targeting” Sophie said. “Listen, watch or read before you pitch" make sure you know the media & make sure they are a match”.  To get Sophie’s attention, do not call or pitch between 7-9am while her show is on air and she is at her busiest, and if you are doing a product drop, make sure it arrives before the show goes off air!
 
Sunrise Supervising Producer, Paul Richards emphasised a subject heading can be crucial in getting through, as first impressions count. “Sometimes I delete a pitch on its lacklustre subject heading, and if you don’t have me interested by the first paragraph than that’s it”. Paul explained that he does have 12 segments and over three hours of TV to fill a day but that due to Sunrise’s busy nature of being a news program, he can’t work on finding content more than a week in advance – so make sure your content is timely and relevant. 
 
Real living Editor, Deborah Bibby advised that due to her busy schedule, she dislikes attending product viewings or showroom tours and that it’s easier to  send through your product with a short and direct description attached. “It’s all about the content” Deborah said.  Just like all other media, Debroah receives hundreds of emails a day so make sure it is direct and interesting. Like Paul, Deborah said: ‘A subject line that rocks make the cut’!
 
InStyle Editor, Kirsten Galliott admitted that most editors don’t like to attend media events as they just don’t have the time but an event with celebrities and a topic/product that is relevant to the publication will make the cut! She explained that sometimes the editorial coordinator can be a PRs best friend as the editor won’t always be able to read your pitch but the editorial coordinator can give it the time and consideration it deserves.
 
This panel was a real joy to have and made our first event for 2013 a real success! We hope to see you all on March 27th for our next event ‘Zero Budget Marketing’.
 

Movember Chief Operating Officer, Jason Hincks said it is important to keep an annual campaign fresh and newsworthy, and the theme needs to be recreated each year with a story around it.  He warned that one of the biggest mistakes made by marketers is the rush to increase their reach – ‘Building a brand is a marathon not a sprint’.  He also encouraged the audience not to over promise and under deliver. His parting tip to our Networxers was a quote from Margaret Mead -’Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”.

Small Business Marketing Guru Michael Griffiths spoke about the importance forging and nurturing strong relationships and connections, and not thinking ‘what’s in it for me?’. Michael advised not to waste money on advertising billboards and instead invest in 'walking billboards' - people who know you and are ambassadors for your company or brand. He was a strong advocate on using social media, but said it had to be ‘valuable’ and recommended the ratio of one ‘advertising’ post about your business for every 80 posts which are of use for your followers.

The panel agreed that it was better to stay silent on social media than post something that wasn’t of value – ‘Nobody wants Movember to post Happy Valentines Day’ said Jason, warning against becoming white noise.

Business Consultant Kate Hurst gave exclusive insights into the fashion industry and emphasised the importance of first clarifying ‘who’ you are and your message. She said her most valuable business connections came through ‘authentic’ conversations either at networking events or through casual acquaintances. 'When you're networking, pretend you are in a room full of friends, this is the best place to meet new contacts and clients'.  She also spoke of her experiences in forging collaborations between likeminded brands, and how these can work well for zero budget marketers. 

When it comes to social media, Kate said it is better to choose one or a few channels that best fit, rather than sharing information across all of them.

Overall, the event was a great success with professionals from a range of industries - including PR, marketing, small business and corporate - enjoying an informative evening with plenty of networking opportunities as well as expert advice on Zero Budget Marketing.

It was great to hear Valerie Khoo on how she started blogging as her ‘cat’, and how Christina Butcher didn’t put her face to her blog for ages and now has three blogs- Hair Romance, Nail Romance and Mr and Mrs Romance.

Christina emphasised the importance of consistency, as she wrote 30 hair styles in 30 days which gave her repeat traffic. Also, ask yourself if you would want to read your blog and give people a reason to follow you? Christina uses Pinterest and Instagram to share images and engage people on a personal level.

David Krupp explained his role as country manager at Nuffnang blogger agency and how he measures a blogs success. According to David 89% of readers of a blog have gone out and purchased something off a blog. Also, David revealed how he and his team maintain the integrity of sponsored posts by only permitting clients to change facts, nothing else.

Some more great advice came from Valerie Khoo when she reminded our networkers to think of being clear in what you are pitching. Also, Valerie emphasised the importance of understanding the readership of blogs as she has found a lot of company blogs are copies of their press release.

Lastly, our panel shared some great tips such as considering blogging conferences to network, spreading the word via social media, and the importance of a strong and attractive blog.

A big thank you to our speakers for sharing their expertise and thank you to our guests for attending. We look forward to seeing you at the next event in May.