When you think about startups, you think of companies like Google or Twitter, billion dollar IPOs and a team of coders typing furiously away into the night fuelled by Red Bull and a single vision.

Unfortunately many budding companies don’t survive; a disappointing reality due to many factors. Perhaps the product or service was before its time, the founders didn’t sufficiently research the market, they had insufficient resources or there was a lack of awareness about the company and its offering.

PushStart is an Australian organisation that is committed to help grow Australian tech startups and guide them to success. As part of its program, PushStart runs a series of events for entrepreneurs to help them polish their skills in a range of disciplines that will help their fledgling businesses thrive.

For ‘Media Relations 101 for Startups’ Corrie McLeod, managing director of Espresso Communications took to the stage with Jeanne-Vida Douglas, journalist at BRW Magazine and freelance journalist Mahesh Sharma to explain just how critical a role PR can play for startups.

Corrie, JV and Mahesh presented across a range of topics to help entrepreneurs approach their PR activities better. From tips on positive networking to developing strong company messages and proof points, to the role of social media in the modern PR landscape the session was developed to provide a practical toolkit to assist these companies better tell their stories.

With two journalists and a PR professional presenting the session together it quickly became evident that there are more similarities between these roles than there are differences. Good PR practitioners and the companies that have great PR are often better than their peers at presenting information that is valuable to the journalist’s readers and offering knowledgeable, credible and interesting information.

One of the key discussions throughout the evening was how PR, along with good networking can best be approached by what you can offer, not just what you want.

The session also took it back to basics on how to write a strong media release by utilising the classic inverted pyramid, stripping out the lingo and considering SEO in order to gain online coverage momentum.

Like Corrie said, not only can great PR support sales attract great skills and profile for broader business ends; it’s also an invaluable and cost effective tool for a startup when done well.

So don’t forget entrepreneurs, visionaries and soon-to-be-billionaires, even the CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg interviewed with student newspaper The Harvard Crimson to secure some coverage for his startup in the early days. Look at Facebook now – on its way to a $5 billion IPO.

Wishing you a merry Christmas season, hope you all enjoy a relaxing holiday with family and friends.

Just as a friendly reminder, our office will be shut from the 22nd of December 2011 until the 3rd of January 2012.

We look forward to kicking off the New Year with a bang.

Happy holidays!

“What do you do again?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m in PR.”

Well it’s now been a month that I’ve worked at Espresso Communications and what an eye-opener it’s been.

After getting the internship offer from Corrie McLeod, I got ready to put all my academic PR skills to use. How quickly that idea was shut down.

Forget all the things you learnt at university. That media strategy you devised for Public Relations 101? Put it in the bin. All those media releases you wrote up while in tutorials? Well, your parents can stick them on the fridge.

“This is the real world, homie, school finished” (Kanye West)

Right off the bat, I’m monitoring a whole bunch of Google Reader feeds, keeping up with hundreds of emails, sitting in on a conference call, updating media lists and sending out media releases (with supervision of course).

While studying I had dreams to work for these global and well-known PR firms but now that I’m at Espresso, I don’t think I could have asked for a better start to my career.

It was actually scary at first. Everybody’s flat-out with work, roles can sometimes overlap, impromptu meetings are called but at the end of the day, Espresso has the energy and culture that I believe would be hard to find in most workplaces.

I guess that’s why Espresso Communications is officially awesome. Please RT.

Christmas parties always conjure up that slight feeling of trepidation. Even though you want to get glammed up and party with your friends in the industry, there will, at some stage during the proceedings, be some tedious Shop conversations;  the inevitable warm, acid wine;  and an empty dance floor for most of the evening, filled eventually by someone debuting 6 inch heels staggering onto it and gyrating insanely. Alone.

Not so the Espresso Client Christmas Party! Armed with roller skates, neon fingerless gloves, crimped hair and oiled larynxes, Team Espresso took over the karaoke rooms at Mizuya last night. The night got off to a wonderfully 80s start with Madonna’s Borderline, Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer and Kylie’s Especially For You being belted out at top volume by anyone and everyone in the room. Skewered meats and sushi rolls were devoured gleefully to soak up the bottles of wine and jugs of beer that flowed incessantly. Roller skates exchanged feet multitudinously as neon revellers fought to show off their backwards skating skills (Phil), to do high-flying aerobic dance moves atop 4 wheels (Tom), to stay vertical (Amanda, Hao and Ron) and to be the rolling – occasionally backwards  – Hostess with the Mostess (Corrie).

Amid air guitar solos played with chopsticks and flashing Buggles glasses being road/eye tested among partygoers, an impromptu fitness class sprang up to Olivia Newton John’s Physical (courtesy of Tom) with much side bending and high kicking and legs akimbo – ending in a crotch-splitting, vodka-induced Splits pose (Laura – ouch!).

As proceedings chilled out slightly (think Islands in the Stream as opposed to Smells Like Teen Spirit * an hour before), all 80s-tastic Espressites had time to reflect on what a wonderfully hilarious night they were having. But to spoil it all, the Kate Bush Duet (Amanda and Laura) murdered Wuthering Heights with an ear splitting, strangled cat rendition of the 80s classic. Time to get our sparkly coats and stop waving our arms wildly.

On a serious note, and with a mildly aching liver and throbbing temples, the Espresso Client Christmas Party shows what a wonderful,  close knit community we have, and how valued and important our work and client friendships are. Without this dynamic, our karaoke could have ended up with mumbling conversations, warm beer and lots of clock-watching … without the added bonus of Four Wheel Drive.

So here’s to next year – bigger and better … We might have to rent out the Opera House for our karaoke antics.

*even though it’s technically NOT an 80s song, who could do it the injustice of leaving it out of a playlist?

It slowly dawned on me that many times I have listened while getting ready to formulate a response, instead of first trying to truly understand the topic or issue.  How many times have I sat in a meeting when a question or idea has suddenly popped into my head that I just must say – oh, if only that person would stop and take a breath – and as a result, only half-listened to what was being discussed? As we continued to delve deeper into this issue, it turns out I wasn’t the only in the room guilty of committing this crime.  It’s all too easy for us to filter what other people are saying and make recommendations based on our worldviews and experiences, without first aiming to see the world from their eyes.

Interestingly, the ability to listen and understand is an issue that’s been around since the Beginning of PR – or at least 1906.  Ivy Lee, the man accredited with developing the modern media release, described PR as a “two-way street” of helping clients listen as well as communicate messages to their publics.  (FYI, it turns out Ivy Lee later turned to the Dark Arts of PR which you can read more about in this interesting article about the History of PR but perhaps that’s for another post.)

Listening before communicating sounds like a no-brainer yet Anni and Priscilla’s session was a timely reminder that as communications consultants, we pride ourselves on our ability to tell our client’s story but if we haven’t listened and understood the full story, we might only be telling half of it!  We might miss the valuable gems because we don’t agree with what’s being discussed or want to stick to the way it’s always been done.  To ensure we are actively listening, here are a few tips we discussed at our offsite that I’d like to share:

1. Be objective and have an open mind – try and listen as if it’s the first time you’ve heard the topic or idea (even when it’s not!)

2. Ask the question which may seem obvious or silly – chances are someone in the room is thinking the same thing (hat tip to you Corrie, for this one J)

3. Reiterate what the person has said to ensure you’re on the same page

I’m sure these three points are just the tip of the iceberg and we’d love to hear what you do to follow in the wise words of Stephen Covey and “seek first to understand, then to be understood”.

This year, more than two hundred campaigns were submitted to the GTA awards nationally – so it’s a great feat and we’re very excited!

On a personal note, this award says a lot about how far Espresso has travelled in the last 12 months. When we worked on this campaign in January, we were a team of three yet now, if you have been following our blog or new twitter stream you will know we’ve added some great new staff and clients. So it’s a very exciting time for all of us.

A bit about the awards

For those who might not be familiar with the Golden Target Awards, these awards set the benchmark for excellent performance and give the industry a chance to be recognised for their work. In addition to this, the campaigns are uploaded to the PRIA website and used to educate and inform not only future campaigns but future consultants who are studying. More information can be found here.

New research into how Kiwis are playing video games has found nine out of ten households own a device for playing games and nearly four in five parents with children (aged 18 and under) play computer and video games.

In households that play computer or video games, 38 per cent use a mobile phone and 9 per cent use a tablet computer to play games. A further 51 per cent of gaming households own a traditional game console.

The 2nd report in a series conducted by Bond University, Digital New Zealand 2012 is based on a random sample of over 800 New Zealand households and provides data on video and computer game use and attitudes, as well as the broader consumption of digital media.
Dr Jeff Brand, Associate Professor at Bond University and author of the report, says a key difference between the 2012 and 2011 reports is the explosion in mobile gaming.

“Over the last year, we’ve seen a growing pattern of ‘snack gaming’ with more Kiwis using their smartphones and tablet computers to play video games. When people are traveling to work or trying to fill in that little bit of time between appointments they’re turning on their mobile devices to ‘snack’ on a video game.”

“Research shows video games are no longer the domain of teenage boys as the average Kiwi gamer is 33 years old and one in five gamers playing social network games. Game playing habits are also moderate with the majority of people playing for up to an hour at a time daily or every other day,” said Dr Brand.

37 per cent of Kiwi gamers buy games traditionally from a local retailer whilst 24 per cent buy games new from a download store (such as PlayStation Network or Xbox Live) and 14 per cent buy games from an online store.

Mark Goodacre, Director of Interactive Games & Entertainment Australia (iGEA) adds, “Kiwi gamers are growing up and they’re parents and even grandparents. Research shows that 41 per cent of people aged over 50 now play video games and a quarter of gamers have been playing for more than two decades. Video games are definitely on for young and old!”

Other key findings of the report include:
• 47 per cent of gamers are females.
• The average adult gamer has been playing for 12 years.
• 58 per cent of gamers play either daily or every other day.
• 92 per cent of parents who play computer games themselves use them to help educate their children.
• Action games was the most popular gaming genre in 2010, followed closely by family games according to the NPD Group Australia research
• One in four gamers say they would either be “motivated” or “very motivated” to sign up to a faster broadband service for game downloads and online play.
• The NZ games industry is forecast to reach $192 million by 2015, a compound annual growth rate of 6.9 per cent according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, New Zealand Entertainment & Media Outlook, 2011 – 2015
*Digital New Zealand is based on a national survey of 846 households and 2428 people living in them in July 2011 using the Nielsen Your Voice Panel and conducted by Bond University.

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About the iGEA
The Interactive Gaming & Entertainment Association proactively represents companies that publish, market and/or distribute interactive games and entertainment content. The iGEA aims to further advance the industry and the business interests of its members through informing and fostering relationships with the public, the business community, government and other industry stakeholders. The iGEA is administered by a Board of Directors and supported by the CEO, Ron Curry. The iGEA was formerly known as the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA).
For more information, please visit: www.igea.net.

According to Meltwater Buzz, the All Blacks have dominated online conversation since Sunday the 9th October receiving 71 per cent of mentions, in comparison to the Wallabies 29 per cent.

Alicia Kennedy, Area Director of Meltwater Australia and New Zealand admits that “the most talked about footy team is not necessarily going to be the one that wins however, it’s really exciting to see which team is the most talked about in the lead up to the game. This type of metric could be of interest to sponsors seeking to gain an element of insight into how their brand is associated with hype. It also shows how our social media monitoring tool can be used in a fun way to tap into what the public is really thinking. The All Blacks might have won the battle of online chatter but the game on Sunday is what really counts!”

In households that play computer or video games, 43 per cent use a mobile phone and 13 per cent use a tablet computer to play games. A further 13 per cent play video games on a handheld device.

The 4th report in a series conducted by Bond University, Digital Australia is based on a random sample of over 1200 Australian households and provides data on video and computer game use and attitudes, as well as the broader consumption of digital media.

Dr Jeff Brand, Associate Professor at Bond University and author of the report, says the growing use of mobile devices such as smartphones or tablet computers to play games has created a pattern of “snack gaming” in Australia.

“The average Australian gamer is 32 years old and we’ve moved well away from the traditional teenage boy stereotype of a gamer. Australian gamers are parents and grandparents ‘snacking’ on games when they’re commuting to work on the bus or train, or while they’re filling in that little bit of time between meetings.

Research shows people who play video games on a mobile or tablet computer are trying to pass time and the majority play games between 30 minutes to an hour at a time every other day, instead of playing long periods of time every day,” says Dr Brand.

43 per cent of Australian gamers buy games traditionally from a local retailer whilst 22 per cent buy games new from a download store (such as PlayStation Network or Xbox Live) and 14 per cent buy games from an online store.

Ron Curry, CEO of Interactive Games & Entertainment Australia (iGEA) adds, playing video games has truly become a family affair.

“Four in five parents are playing video games with their children and most believe it’s a great way to educate and spend time with their children.”

“Australian gamers are growing up and 43 per cent of people aged over 50 now play video games.”

Other key findings of the report include:

• 47 per cent of gamers are females and this number has steadily increased since 2005.
• The average adult gamer has been playing for 12 years.
• 75 per cent of gamers are 18 years or older.
• The Australian computer games industry hardware and boxed software sales totaled $1.7 billion in 2010.
• 44 per cent of households that play computer and video games also own a portable music device compared to only 3 per cent of households that don’t play video or computer games.
• 21 per cent of game households also own a BluRay device compared to 7 per cent of households that don’t play games

- Ends -

About the iGEA

The Interactive Gaming & Entertainment Association proactively represents companies that publish, market and/or distribute interactive games and entertainment content. The iGEA aims to further advance the industry and the business interests of its members through informing and fostering relationships with the public, the business community, government and other industry stakeholders. The iGEA is administered by a Board of Directors and supported by the CEO, Ron Curry. The iGEA was formerly known as the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA).

For more information, please visit: www.igea.net.

For audio and video links, please visit: http://medianet.multimediarelease.com.au/bundles/128b4142-1c67-4036-8fcb-3a3852014455

*Digital Australia 2012 is a study of 1252 Australian households and 3533 women, men, girls and boys in them. These participants were from an online national random sample using the Nielsen Your Voice Panel. The survey was conducted in July 2011.