Purple Conversations: Peter Klinger
In between drafting ASX announcements and strategic communication plans for clients, Cannings Purple’s Director of Investor Relations, Peter Klinger, takes a break to tell us who he is when he’s not working. In our ‘Purple Conversations’ series, you’ll find out about the Cannings Purple team – what led them to their careers; what they do in their spare time and even what their favourite apps are. Meet Peter Klinger Peter is a highly-skilled communicator and communications strategist with a proven track record of devising communication strategies and writing high-quality reports, thought leadership pieces and mission/values statements for a range of clients. Peter boasts more
How Your Business Can Manage Online Trolls
Your business will always have detractors and promoters. Detractors will find any excuse to bring you down and take attention away from serving your community, clients or customers. Promoters are people who will publicly back your organisation. A troll will always be a detractor and there are several ways to deal with them, but first, let’s define a troll – and no, we’re not talking about the thing that lives under a bridge. What is an online troll? Trolling is creating conflict on the internet by starting disputes or upsetting people by posting inflammatory or off-topic messages in an online community. In essence,
Purple Conversations: Glenn Langridge
In between helping clients achieve their digital goals, Cannings Purple's Head of Digital, Glenn Langridge takes a break to tell us who he is when he's not working. In our 'Purple Conversations' series, you'll find out about the Cannings Purple team - what led them to their careers; what they do in their spare time and even what they’re currently watching on Netflix. Meet Head of Digital, Glenn Langridge Glenn is involved with all aspects of digital strategy and campaigning, helping clients achieve their goals through smart use of social media, digital tools, and the latest platforms. Prior to joining Cannings Purple he ran
Why you need to crack CRM
It’s no secret that good business is built on relationships. The better a business can manage its relationships with its clients, its suppliers, its stakeholders and its referrers, the more successful it will be. Building and maintaining these key relationships can feel daunting for those unfamiliar with it – but this is where a good customer relationship management system, or CRM, can make all the difference. What is CRM? Most of us are used to hearing about CRM in the context of increasing profitability and sales. However, it also enables businesses to focus on all types of relationships, not just transactional ones,
Purple Conversations: Adam Elovalis
In between designing websites and branded collateral for clients, Cannings Purple's Art Director, Adam Elovalis takes a break to tell us who he is when he's not working. In our 'Purple Conversations' series, you'll find out about the Cannings Purple team - what led them to their careers; what they do in their spare time and even what they’re currently watching on Netflix. Meet Art Director, Adam Elovalis Adam Elovalis lives and breathes design. An Art Director with a diverse skill set covering print and digital design, Adam developed his design knowledge in a variety of industries including real estate, government, mining, not-for-profit,
Writing For The Web
Engaging – it’s the word most often used to describe great content on the internet. Readers who are engaged keep their eyes on website pages for longer, and engaged customers feel compelled to act and purchase products. Length of time on site and customer conversion are two of the most common goals for content strategies. Video and podcasts have become popular ways of creating content, but the written word remains an important pillar of content strategies. Writing for the web, or indeed any public medium, can feel intimidating for those unfamiliar with it – but the best strategy is to prepare and keep
Five steps to make community engagement less scary
Let’s face it, engaging your community can be daunting. Our Stakeholder Engagement specialist, Sarah-Jane Dabarera shares five steps you can take to help shake-off the fear and embrace the process of community consultation. 1. Talk to your community If you’re concerned about how your community might respond, it could seem counterintuitive to just get out there and talk to them, but this is the best place to start. Starting a conversation with a few individuals first may assist your understanding of community concerns and issues. Early conversations with a sample stakeholder group can improve your research and build the case for more detailed
From Street To Tweet: Citizen journalism and embracing the tweet
In 1960, journalist A.J. Liebling wrote that "freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." Meaning, it was only those rich and influential enough to produce a book or a newspaper whose unfettered opinions could truly be heard. Unknown to Liebling at the time, almost forty years later, and with the birth of the internet, a new generation of citizen journalists would arise. Consumer to Creator Citizen journalism is an alternative form of news gathering and reporting, taking place outside of the traditional media structures and which can involve anyone. From reader to creator, citizens have now changed their status as
Case study: a real-world example of good content strategy
We’re all meant to be publishers these days, but it’s not unusual for organisations to be a bit bewildered about how to go about creating content, or what it should be.
Head-to-head: should Australians have access to all government-held information?
International Access to Information Day is held on 28 September every year and recognises the community’s right to access government-held information. This year, the focus will be on the right to information during times of crisis and on the advantages of having constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information to save lives, build trust and help the formulation of sustainable policies throughout and beyond the COVID-19 crisis. The community’s right to access government-held information is a multi-faceted and complex issue, so we have enlisted Cannings Purple's Director, Design and Digital, Jamie Wilkinson and Associate Director, Government Relations, Jennifer Kirk
Putting your best face forward in a webinar-heavy world
We’re living in a world where it’s easier and more useful than ever before to put ourselves on video.
Why you should be ‘standing up’ in your remote workplace
The stand-up meeting first rose to prominence in the tech sector but it's now a vital tool in many industries.
Staying connected while working from home
Working from home is something more and more of us will do in the future - but how do you stay connected while remote?
Pitch perfect – getting your story heard
Your story might be the most exciting thing that's ever happened to your company - but unless you know how you are going to pitch it, it's unlikely to travel far.
Why it’s critical to have a contact(able) person on your announcements
Sometimes the most important touch in our digital world is a human one.
The how-to-guide for a successful Canberra lobbying trip
A trip to Canberra to engage with politicians can be a daunting prospect - so we've broken down the process of finding success in the nation's capital.
How my internship taught me to communicate
Cannings Purple intern Brigitte Colbert explains how time spent at the consultancy taught her about the importance of genuine, two-way conversations.
Why your stakeholder database is much more than it seems
It may look, smell, and walk like a database but your stakeholder database can be so much more than that. Here are some simple reasons why you should start looking at your database differently and appreciating it for what it really can be. It’s your record Well, of course – right? A database, by its very nature, is a record system. But it’s more than just a box-ticking exercise. It’s a permanent and evolving reference of every interaction you have had with your stakeholders. You’ll be forever grateful for the perfect database when it’s easy to track not only what you did and
Pods, parking and moving on from the Milk Arrowroots – your AGM reimagined
If you're treating your annual general meeting as nothing more than a box-ticking exercise, it might be time you did something else - and thought outside the box.
How the Matagarup Bridge was built – with the community
Construction of Perth's latest piece of iconic infrastructure took place in plain sight - but what happened behind the scenes was just as important.
Why developing new journalism talent is so important for the media
The way we digest journalism has changed but the underlying tenet of the craft has not. And it takes a certain kind of person to provide what audiences want.
Why a piece of my heart belongs to Africa
Peta Baldwin was a 'green and naive' Aussie when she headed to South Africa in 2000, expecting to stay a couple of years at most. Nine years later, she and her husband had to be dragged out of the country 'kicking and screaming.'
Trust me, your staff want to put their faith in you
When Edelman released its annual Trust Barometer earlier this year, there was one finding that stood out as remarkable. And it's an opportunity employers can't afford to miss.
Authenticity may not really be what you’re looking for
Recently I was asked to speak in Sydney at the Corporate Affairs Summit, Australasia’s most senior and significant gathering of corporate affairs and communication executives. These events are always a perilous mix of unusual insight (this year a senior leader from tobacco company Philip Morris was the day one keynote speaker) and potential navel-gazing, as 300-plus communications professionals meet in the same room. But the panel I was on was particularly interesting, even if I do say so myself! I was asked to discuss the importance of authenticity in professional communications, especially with regards to large-scale consumer communications. This is a fascinating topic,
‘Old’ news, cyber attacks and shifting cultural plates – seven trends to watch
We live in an ever-changing communications landscape, where the next big trend can go from nowhere-to-be-seen to near ubiquitous in matter of days (or even hours). Against a recent backdrop in which public trust has been tested like never before (from Trump to banking horror stories and Australian cricket disgrace), our experts give their takes on the communication trends they expect to see coming into focus in the near future. Number crunching for the win One of the biggest opportunities – and challenges – for many businesses will be around how they use data and whether it can become a predictive tool for
Know the DRILL – how to pitch your story to the media
Clients - and colleagues - often ask me how I go about pitching ideas, talent and content to media organisations. I am fortunate in that I have spent more than 20 years in newsrooms in Australia and the UK and I have a strong network of contacts and a detailed appreciation for how news outlets work, what types of stories are likely to gain traction and what deadlines are applicable to different organisations. But I still go back to one basic premise every time I make a pitch: DRILL Do you know? What is your story? Why is it a story? What collateral do you
The difference between PR and advertising (and why they are sometimes the same)
What’s the difference between public relations and advertising? I get asked this a lot, even by people in each respective field, and I’ve eventually settled on an answer that doesn’t cause eyes to glaze over and induce mild migraines. In a very simple way it is this: PR companies earn attention whereas advertising companies buy it. Saying “buy it” might be a little simplistic. People build entire careers analysing budgets and carefully crafting media spends to get specific message in front of specific target audiences. That’s not to say PR is free. In PR there are countless ways to earn attention – events, articles,
Rise of the machines: Automation, AI and the ASX
In 1908, Henry Ford revolutionised the car industry with the implementation of the production line for the Model T Ford. The process of mechanisation lowered costs and sped up production, allowing the car to go mainstream and replace the horse and cart. The advent of the personal computer and its evolution over time has allowed significant increases in data flow and streamlining of work processes. While this initially led to a loss of some jobs in areas such as typing pools, this was more than offset by an increase in the number of more productive jobs as well as increased productivity
Does your organisation have a change-ready culture?
How did formerly cutting-edge companies like Nokia and Kodak lose their way? Why do some businesses evolve, and yet others get left behind? What is the next Toys ‘R’ Us, or Blockbuster, or Blackberry, poised to go extinct through lack of innovation? Continual change is a guarantee of successful business, not just in terms of the processes you use or the services or products you offer: the culture of a business needs to evolve as well. Nokia is a good example of how a corporate culture didn’t evolve, leaving the company struggling to reclaim a once buoyant market share. Failing to appreciate
Ten steps to getting the most out of Twitter for your business
So, you’ve signed up to Twitter and to your disappointment no one is reading your tweets or responding to your brilliant insights. It’s a common complaint for many Twitter users: if you’re not already famous, no one is listening to anything you say. So, to help you get a little more out of the platform here are some top tips to assist you with being heard. Use your real name If you want to build a professional network and for people to take you seriously, you need to use your real name. People are much more likely to trust you and what