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Wednesday, 11 January 2012, 12:00 pm Press Release: Michael Carney

11 Questions To ask when Preparing your 2012Marketing Plan

1. What lessons did you learn from2011?How did your organisation perform last year?how closely did your plans model reality? As Prussian FieldMarshall Helmuth Carl Bernard Graf von Moltke (theElder) noted back in the nineteenth century (paraphraseda bit), “no battle plan ever survives contact with theenemy”. or, as Marvel Comics supremo Stan Lee oncewrote, “life is what happens to you while you’re makingother plans”. so ‘fess up: how murky was your crystal ballin 2011, and what Black Swan surprises did you encounteralong the way?

2. What’s happening this year in thelife of your target consumer?It was a tough old yearfor many, as the Global Financial Crisis collidedwith earthquakes, tsunamis, mudslides and other unexpectedevents. despite that gloom and doom, consumers still displaysurprising rose-tinted optimism when predicting their ownfutures twelve months out, even while they’re still up totheir gumboots in alligators today. So how resilient is yourtarget prospect right now, what are her hopes and dreams for2012 and how can you tweak or otherwise reposition yourproduct or service offerings to meet her currentneeds?

3. how good, bad or ugly is your market sectorexpected to be in 2012?Time for a dose of realism.are customers buying, haggling or keeping their walletsfirmly padlocked in your industry sector? is it time toconsider tinkering with your pricing strategies (perhapslooking at Everyday low Pricing, BOGOF or trying out a GroupDeal?), offering time payment, introducing smaller packsizes or otherwise opting for more affordability for thecredit-challenged? or would you like to sign up for our“Thriving In A Tough Economy” Workshop to learneffective survival strategies in today’s environment (email us if you’d like some moredetails)?

4. What Major Events do you need tocircumnavigate this year? We’re finally over theRugby World Cup and the Elections, but what(planned) events do we need to avoid (or attempt tocapitalise upon) this time round? Here’s a sampling: 2012sees the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II,marking the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne(February 6); we remember the 100th anniversary of thesinking of the Titanic (April 14): nations gather inLondon to contest the Olympics (July/August); and thenearly-endless U.S. presidential process occupiesmost of the year in the land of hope and glory.

5. It’s2012, do you know where your customers are?Are theyhanging on Facebook, meeting up via Foursquare or chattingto Leighton on the radio? Will they be spending more or lesstime reading the newspaper and the gossip mags in the Yearof the Dragon? Will they be signing up for the new Sky/TVNZpay TV service Igloo, or will they be caught by surprisewhen their TV fades to snow on The Day That Digital KillsThe Video Star? Media habits are changing — do keep upwith what your customers arewatching/reading/writing/hearing.

6. What currenttrends will impact on your business this year?Notsure? Don’t know where to look? For a monthly briefing onemerging consumer trends, insights and innovations, head totrendwatching.com and sister site springwise.com. For links to sevensources which will give you an instant report on What’sHot in Social Media, start here.

7. Have you networkedwith your peers lately?Stop interrogating yourkeyboard and get talking to your colleagues, suppliers andcompetitors. Apart from any vertical networkingopportunities within your industry, consider attendingfunctions from organisations such as the MarketingAssociation, the Chambers of Commerce, the EMA and otherbusiness groups. Online, head to LinkedIn and join anindustry-specific group (go local for networking,international for information-gathering). Set up a closeduser group for your own organisation on Yammer so you canchat with a more selective gathering of your own colleagueson a regular basis.

8. What are you planning to learnabout in 2012?A week is a long time in marketing.What happened yesterday that will impact you today (see #7above for trend-spotting)? how real was mobile marketingwhen you did your training? do you know enough aboutFacebook to put together a truly effective social mediabrief (unabashed plug for our new course, below)?Continuing Education isn’t just a nice-to-have … in thechanging-every-nano-second new millennium, it’s simply asurvival mandate.

9. What can you learn from what yourcompetitors are doing?No matter how bad you may wishyour competitors were, the reality is that they must bedoing some things right, otherwise they wouldn’t havesurvived this long. So what can you learn from them, and howcan you out-imitate them?

10. Where are you mostvulnerable?Where could your organisation definitelydo better, and what are you doing to fix that weakness? If anew competitor suddenly emerged, offering a better widget ata lower price, what could you do to counter it? And whyaren’t you doing that already? Time for some wargames andcrisis scenario planning, before someone out there makes theunthinkable real.

11. Kaizen. Kaizen. Kaizen.Inthe spirit of continuous improvement, identify five thingswithin your current operation that you could do 2% better.Then just do them.

Rinse andRepeat.

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NEW:how to Prepare An Effective Social Media Brief

One ofthe biggest challenges facing traditional marketers (eventhose who’ve already ventured into the social media space)is simply this: “how can I prepare an effective social mediabrief (whether to brief those within my organisation or foran outside supplier)?”

Most marketers are confident intheir ability to prepare a brief for a poster or a billboardor a television commercial. But should the brief for asocial media campaign be pretty much the same?

Twoanswers:

1. Yes, it can be — but what you’ll get as aresult, unless you’re very, very lucky, is an advertisingcampaign masquerading as a social media programme.2. 3. No, no, no — social media can be so muchmore, as long as you give an effective social media brief tothose actually executing the social mediaprogramme.4. So how do you prepare an effectivesocial media brief?

The need for a comprehensive answer tothat question has led us to create a brand new four-modulecourse covering the topic.

Here’s what the course covers:

Module one: Setting Social ObjectivesWhatexactly do you and your organisation want to achieve throughsocial media? we review possible answers to that question –taking into account not merely the obvious communicationsobjectives that organisations typically set, but also thosedistinctly social attributes that most marketers overlook.

We show you how to review your own brand’s story andpersonality and how that will colour your social mediaefforts. we encourage you to re-examine your existingcustomers and prospects and determine what they might hopeto hear from you through social media (and how frequently).And we take a look at social media objectives set by otherorganisations, for inspiration and guidance (and, in a fewcases, as cautionary tales of what not to do in socialmedia).

As a result of this module, you’ll be able toprovide those who will be operating your social mediaprogramme with clear, agreed social objectives that (a)reflect your organisation, its heritage and the interests ofits customers; and (b) take advantages of the richpossibilities inherent in social media.

Module two:Agreeing Social Strategies & TacticsOnce yourobjectives are in place, it’s time to consider possiblestrategies to communicate through social media. Strategy inthis context means figuring out what you want to bedifferent after you’re done implementing your social mediamarketing — and that evaluation process should NOT be leftto those carrying out the programme (because they’re seldomin a position to determine the relative priorities for yourorganisation).

Is the appropriate primary strategy basedaround reputation management, customer service or justgetting people talking about your products? or are youlooking for specific leads or even sales (and how should youdo that in social media without offending everyone)?

Oncethe strategic possibilities have been winnowed down to achosen few, then it’s time to look at tactics to turn thosestrategies into reality. Most of the tactical decisions canbe carried out at an operational level — but it’s stillvery much worth your while understanding the sorts oftactics that are relevant in the social space. Thatinformation may shape your views on decisions such as who isthe most appropriate team to implement your social mediaprogramme as well as identifying the people within yourorganisation who should be points of contact for theprogramme (it won’t be just you).

Decisions on tacticswill lead in turn to decisions on which social tools shouldbe used: Twitter, Google plus, Facebook, YouTube,Slideshare, the list goes on.

From Module two, you’lldevelop a solid base with which to have constructivediscussions (and even perhaps robust debates) with yoursocial media implementation team.

Module Three:planning your ProgrammeWhat should you talk about insocial media? one thing you shouldn’t be is merely reactive,responding to situations and comments as they happen.perhaps the most neglected part of the whole social mediaprocess is planning an effective, proactive social mediacommunications schedule. Not only do you have to providekiller content that’s relevant and engages your constituents– you also need to plan out what you’re going to say inadvance, tied in to topical events, matters of the momentand your own communications programme. That’s not somethingthat can simply be left to that nephew of the CEO who’srunning your Facebook page in his spare time.

In thismodule, we step you through the processes you’ll need toconsider when developing an effective INTEGRATED socialmedia schedule that’s linked into your other promotionalefforts. We’ll also encourage you to talk to yourimplementation team about Content Optimisation –identifying your customers’ hottest topics and using themost popular keywords in their posts.

Module Four:ImplementationFinally, we turn to the processesrequired to make all this happen. we provide you with anappropriate framework for briefing your social mediasupplier, allocating internal and external resources andresponsibilities and agreeing how the effort will bemeasured.

We also suggest a timetable for reviewing andadjusting your campaign, and how to evaluate the campaigneffectively — do “likes”, “+1s” and “retweets” matter, howdo you measure social engagement and what does it allmean?

By the end of this course, you should be confidentthat you can effectively brief a supplier on social mediaand ensure that the results you are achieving don’t justseem okay — they meet a concrete set of objectives that isconsistent with your overall organisationalgoals.

TIMINGThis new four-module programmebegins on Monday January 23.

PROGRAMMECREATORThe “How to Prepare An Effective SocialMedia Brief” programme has been developed by MichaelCarney

INVESTMENTThis new programme isavailable for $397+GST.

However we offer an

EARLY-BIRD RATE of $297+GST (SAVING YOU $100)

for bookings received by next Monday January16.

To register and pay through credit cardprocessor PayMate, please click here

If you wouldprefer to pay by cheque or bank deposit, or require aninvoice before making payment, please send an email to nz with details ofyour request. (The service provider will be shown asNetmarketing Services Limited in your transaction and onyour credit card statement).

WHAT HAPPENSNEXT?1. your booking will be confirmed by email (ifyou have not received a confirmation within 24 hours, feelfree to email nz).2. OnMonday January 23 you will be supplied by email with thefirst part of your How to Prepare An Effective SocialMedia Brief programme.3. Follow-up lessons will besent out over subsequent weeks (but please note that youtake the course at your own pace).

FarewellStratos

On the day before Christmas Eve, four-year-oldStratos Television shut down. the channel, which hadbeen broadcasting free-to-air content for four years viaFreeview, Sky and TelstraClear, was shut down because thechannel was no longer financially viable.

Co-founder andchief executive Jim Blackman noted: “We simply have not hadthe support we were seeking – despite a growing audience ofmore than one million and reaching the stage where ACNielsen were able to include us in the TARPS audienceratings.”

Stratos content included Al Jazeera news (inEnglish), along with series such as “Jewel in the Palace”, aKorean drama about palace life and traditional cuisine, andthe international talent quest Eurovision. the channel’snews and current affairs programmes, screened in bothEnglish and mother tongues, included content from more thana dozen countries.

Stratos also had internationalpartnerships with the likes of DW-TV, France 24, Euro Newsin Europe, Voice of America, Bloomberg, Australia Networkand CCTV, CQTV, NHK and YTN in Asia.

Stratos, like thesoon-to-disappear TVNZ 7, provided access to a diverse rangeof voices and opinions not typically available in NewZealand on free-to-air television. It’s an unfortunatereality that our market is simply not big enough to supportsuch endeavours through commercial enterprise — anddeep-pocketed patrons are few and far between.

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Nine Reasons why you Should be onGoogle Plus

Do we really need another socialnetwork? That must be the question for many businesses,already stretched trying to keep up with Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn and many more.

The answer is a definite YES, ifthat additional social network is Google plus (also known asGoogle+) — and here are nine compelling reasons why YOUneed to consider using Google plus for YOUR businessNOW:

1. It will improve your ranking on GoogleSearchGoogle has been “experimenting” withmaking clicks on +1 buttons one of the more than 200 signalsinforming its search algorithm, according to a companyspokesperson. Today Google has just poured Google Plusinto its search results (see “Google Merges Search and Google+ IntoSocial Media Juggernaut”). As Google Fellow Amit Singhalnoted on the Official Google Blog: “We’re transformingGoogle into a search engine that understands not onlycontent, but also people and relationships.” This is one ofthose paradigm shifts that takes us into territory where noman (or search engine) has gone before. the implications aresimply mind-blowing.2. 3. Google plus is the newSEOAll these changes to Google Search change the waythat you’ll be found on Google (if you have a presence onGoogle Plus). If you already devote effort to Search EngineOptimisation, you simply MUST have a business page on GooglePlus.4. 5. Early Adopters get the mostbenefitJust imagine how much more effective aprofile you’d now have on Facebook if you could have beenthere from the very beginning, attracting followers andbuilding relationships! Leading brands have been very quickto set up Google plus pages; their worry is that earlyadopters will reap the search benefits, while others will beburied by those who have collected more +1s. If you hurry,YOU can be a fast follower too.6. 7. Google Plusis the fastest growing social network everAccordingto comScore, Google+, launched by the Internet search andadvertising giant on June 28, had 25 million unique visitorswithin a month. In comparison, it took other social networksmuch longer to reach 25 million users: 22 months forMyspace, 33 months for Twitter and 37 months for Facebook.And that runaway growth continues — by the end of December2011 Google plus had chalked up 62 million users. If thecurrent growth rate of 625,000 new users a day continues, bythe end of this year Google+ will have 400 million users.how fast are YOU at seizing the day before Google plus getstoo crowded?8. 9. Google is adding a “sociallayer” to everything it doesIn April 2011, GoogleCEO Larry Page changed the rules. he recognised that socialhas become the most popular game in town, with usersspending much more time on their social networking than theydo on searching. Google needs to go social or risk damingits revenue streams; so now a quarter of every Googlestaffer’s bonus depends on the company’s success orfailure in social media. That’s why they’re throwingeverything they’ve got into Google plus — and why YOUneed to be firmly embedded in that social layer aswell.10. 11. The Customer is now firmly InControlAll the surveys are saying the same thing:consumers trust each other more than they trust you. 90%trust recommendations from people they know, according to aNielsen global study, whilst 70% are prepared to believeconsumer opinions posted online — the same as BrandWebsites and ahead of TV advertising (62%) or online bannerads (33%). If you don’t start to build socialrelationships with your customers wherever you can, how canyou be sure they will recommend YOU when the timecomes?12. 13. Content can be SharedIfyou’re going to the trouble of creating content for yourblog, Facebook or Twitter, it’s copy-and-paste easy toshare it on Google plus as well. sometimes, all you have todo is paste the link and Google plus takes care of the rest.So why wouldn’t you connect with as many people through asmany social networks as possible?14. 15. It’sSmart Social CRMGoogle plus Circles make it easy tosegment your audiences and communicate different messages todifferent groups. your VIP customers can be treated with theTLC they deserve; Hot Prospects can receive tailoredmessages that are quite different from those shown to loyal customers.16. 17. Social can BeSlowAccording to research conducted by MarshallSponder of WebMetricsGuru, the average social media campaigntakes between three months and a year to show results. Thesooner you start, the more quickly you’ll start to see thebenefits. 18. So how can you master Google plus?

Sign yourself up today for our four-week MarketingThrough Google+ course:

LESSON ONE: SETTINGUPIn this first lesson we take you through theprocesses of setting yourself up on Google+ and buildingyour Business Page(s). we review examples and best practicesof those already active on Google+ and take you through someof the social attributes unique to Google+ (includingCircles and Hangouts) and how they work differently fromFacebook (and what they mean for your business).

LESSONTWO: SHARING & INTEGRATINGOnce you’ve hung outyour shingle on Google+, it’s time to start sharing. Wetake you through the most important aspects of socialsharing and explore styles and techniques uniquely relevantto Google+. Then we explore the tools that can help youintegrate Google+ into other aspects of your onlinemarketing and communications activities.

LESSON THREE:SPREADING THE WORD BEYOND GOOGLE+To use Google+ mosteffectively, you need to extend your reach out beyond thesocial networks and onto other sites. In this lesson weexamine the tools and techniques that make this all possible— and share a few secrets to accelerate youreffectiveness.

LESSON FOUR: SUCCESS BYNUMBERSGoogle’s Analytics capabilities are alreadylegendary; Google+ raises the bar even further. In thislesson we explore Google+ Social Analytics, Page Analyticsand the newest Google+ service, Ripples: Ripples let you seeyour posts spread across Google+, who’s sharing andresharing your content, and whose opinions matter.

Moredetails of the Marketing through Google+ course areavailable here.

TIMINGThefirst 2012 release of this course begins on WednesdayJanuary 25.

PROGRAMME CREATORThe MarketingThrough Google+ course has been developed by MichaelCarney

INVESTMENTThis new Marketing ThroughGoogle+ course is available for $397+GST.

However weoffer an

EARLY-BIRD RATE of $297+GST (SAVING YOU$100)

for bookings received by Wednesday January18.

To register and pay through credit cardprocessor PayMate, please click here

If you wouldprefer to pay by cheque or bank deposit, or require aninvoice before making payment, please send an email to nz with details ofyour request. (The service provider will be shown asNetmarketing Services Limited in your transaction and onyour credit card statement).

WHAT HAPPENSNEXT?1. your booking will be confirmed by email (ifyou have not received a confirmation within 24 hours, feelfree to email nz).2. OnWednesday January 25 you will be supplied by email with thefirst part of your Marketing through Google+programme.3. Follow-up lessons will be sent out oversubsequent weeks (but please note that you take the courseat your own pace).

Ideas WorthStealing

From the latest issue of the US NationalRetail Federation‘s Stores Magazine: 20 Ideas WorthStealing. Here’s a sampling:

Coupon codeconvenienceIt’s no secret: Coupons and promo codescan help build customer loyalty and improve the shoppingexperience. But what happens when a customer discovers thatsomeone else received a discount they didn’t?

A simplephrase on the checkout page is letting some online retailersensure that doesn’t happen. It’s not just, “do youhave a promo code?” — it’s what comes next: “Howdo I get one?” or “find one now.” Thisconsumer-centric approach helps buyers feel that they’regetting the best possible deal each and everytime.

Your Friends’ SeatsTicketmasterhas found a way to market to its customers’ friends.

Assoon as they buy, Ticketmaster customers can tagthemselves into their seats, enabling Facebook friends tosee where they are sitting and which nearby seats areavailable for purchase. the feature is currently availablefor more than 9,000 events.

Mind your MannersOna personal level, expressing thanks may improve yourreputation; on a business level, it can be a crucial aspectin building customer relationships. A study published in theJournal of Marketing found that expressing thanks wasa powerful tool in building trust between the customer andthe company.

Gratitude can range from extravagant,one-time only events to inexpensive, every-day occurrences.J.Crew Boutique Collection celebrated its newlyrevamped Madison Avenue location by providing pedi-cabs —open-air bicycle-powered carriages — one Saturday. Thosewho hopped into a pedi-cab were given a postcard providingshoppers with a special gift.

Home decor flash sales siteOne Kings Lane surprised 6,900 of its best customerswith a special gift that shipped the first two weeks ofNovember. Based on purchase history, shoppers received tapercandles, a silver pitcher or an inlaid bone box.

But thegratitude doesn’t have to be oriented to an event orholiday. Some of the most successful campaigns are designedto be routine parts of the customer experience. Perhapsit’s a beverage or chocolate sample while shopping, or ahandwritten note from the sales associate after a purchaseis made. For an extremely minor investment — the cost ofstationery and a stamp — an important relationship isenhanced.

Finding the FitTen seconds. That’show long the Me-Ality Size Matching Station takes tofigure out the best-fitting clothes for shoppers.

Here’show it works: A fully clothed shopper steps into thescanner, where 196 small antennae map her size. Her exactbody measurements are captured via 200,000 “points ofreference” and she’s soon able to view a custom shoppingguide, filterable by brand, style, price and retailer.

Formore ideas worth stealing, read the fullstory here.

Price Comparisons byMobile

When opportunity knocks, retailers need to besure “opportunity” doesn’t walk out the door for abetter deal online or next door. It seems consumers arecross-shopping without leaving the store, according to U.S.research, as 40.6% say they have compared prices and thenleft to purchase an item from another retailer’s physicalstore. fewer (30.6%) have compared prices and stillpurchased from the same store. more than a third of MobileUsers (35.8%) take advantage of product reviews on theirmobile devices to help them make purchasedecisions:

Top 5 In-Store Mobile ShoppingActivities

• Compared prices; purchased from anotherretailer’s physical store: 40.6% • • Readproduct reviews to decide between products: 35.8%• • Compared prices; still purchased from sameretailer: 30.6% • • Scanned QR code to get moreinformation about product: 29.7% • • “Checkedin” for a discount: 26.7%• Source: ProsperMobile Insights™ Mobile Survey, December 2011

Inaddition, 1 in 4 (25.6%) has compared prices and thenpurchased from another retailer’s website via a smartphoneor tablet—an opportunity that didn’t even have to walkout the door to make a purchase somewhere else.

Assmartphone penetration continues to grow in New Zealand(already over 20% of Australian internet searches are nowfrom mobile devices, according to Nick Leeder, managingdirector, Google Australia and New Zealand), this type ofactivity will become very much the norm here as well.

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Is Facebookthe new “Vogue”?

Pam Danziger, specialist researcher into the luxurymarket, made an interesting discovery in a recent focusgroup comprised of Gen Y consumers who are on the road toaffluence thanks to high levels of education and equallyhigh career ambitions. one of the young women in the focusgroup commented that printed magazines just don’t cut itanymore. She said, “I don’t buy magazines anymore. I usedto, but I don’t anymore.”

Another said, “By thetime that magazine is printed and you read it, there’ssomething else better that you already know about. So nowyou go to websites or social networks like Twitter andFacebook that give you highlights and updates online.”

The debate — print versus other, more immediate forms ofcommunication — is certainly not new. Newspapers andmagazines have long wrestled with the challenge: what istheir role in a world where first radio, then television andnow the Internet delivers headlines, updates and scoops onan as-it-happens basis?

The print media solution that hasproven the most durable (at least in principle, if notalways in practice): provide more in-depth, insightful,well-resourced background and comment on the news of themoment, supplemented by the occasional scoop.

That latteroffering, championed by the tabloid press and weeklymagazines in particular, has become less occasional and morecompulsory as publications fight for attention not just withthe electronic media but also with each other. However, asthe late, unlamented News of the World discovered toits eventual downfall, generating scoops on a daily orweekly basis almost inevitably means crossing the line andresorting to at best unsavoury, at worst illegal tactics toexhume the exposés.

Another strategy commonly in use,especially amongst the weeklies: cover headlines calculatedto mislead, a device that at first attracts but thenultimately repels as readers realise that once again they’vebeen deceived. [We invite you to join in on our weekly"true or false" headline game: how many cover headlines onthe gossip-focussed titles each week actually representtruthful reporting?]

Consumers, as you well know,trust each other more than they trust either marketers ormedia; given what lies are told on the newsstands everyweek, how could it be otherwise? But before the advent ofFacebook, Twitter, YouTube et al. it wasn’t easy forconsumers to source and share interesting/useful informationon a timely basis. now it is.

Perhaps it’s time for ourtraditional media to reassess themselves critically andconsider whether they’re offering a sustainable solutionthat’s still appropriate for their prospective customers for2012 and beyond.

Upskill Yourselffor 2012!

So — another New Year. how many Resolutionshave you made this time round? And how many have you brokenalready?

One of the more popular resolutions each yearfocusses around new learning opportunities — the start ofthe year (when there’s usually less pressure to perform inmost jobs) is a great time to learn new skills.

Naturally,we’ve timed our latest batch of Social Media courses to giveKiwis a good solid start to the year.

You wantdetails? Read on.

NEW: Marketing through Google+

In this course you’ll learn all about Google+ forBusiness, how to set up your organisation on Google+,the new influence of Google+ on Google Search results — andhow to make this new social offering really work for you.

For more details of the Marketing ThroughGoogle+ programme (first 2012 course starts January 25,Early Bird Save $100 Special Offer closes nextWednesday, January 18), see the story above or please click here.

CourseSM-12: Social Media Marketing

This is a seven-parteCourse providing a comprehensive introduction to SocialMedia Marketing, from the Basics to detailed instructions onhow to build and run a Social Media Marketing programme.

For more details of the Social Media Marketing onlinecourse (first 2012 course starts January 23, Early BirdSave $100 Special Offer closes next Monday, January16) please click here.

FacebookKickstart Programme

This course offers hands-onguidance to help you build your presence on Facebook. It’sa twelve-step programme released over four weeks, completewith demonstration videos, practical advice, resources andreal-world examples.

For more details of theFacebook Kickstart programme, (first 2012 coursestarts January 25, Early Bird Save $100 Special Offercloses next Wednesday, January 18) please click here.

FacebookAccelerator Programme

So you have a few hundred (or afew thousand) followers on Facebook but now you want to knowhow to get to the next level? Our FacebookAccelerator seven-part online course will lead youthrough the steps necessary to supercharge your Facebookpresence.

For more details of the FacebookAccelerator programme, (first 2012 course starts January25, Early Bird Save $100 Special Offer closes nextWednesday, January 18) please click here.

How toPrepare an Effective Social Media Brief

Even if youdon’t intend to become directly in social media yourself,you may still need to understand the principles, practicesand opportunities of social media — for example, if youneed to brief someone about running a social media campaign.This programme is designed to provide you with the insightsnecessary to prepare an effective brief.

For more detailsof the How to Prepare an Effective Social Media Briefprogramme, (first 2012 course starts January 23, EarlyBird Save $100 Special Offer closes next Monday,January 16) please click here.

Snippets

• NEW BEAT: Launched onthe 1st of January by MediaWorks Radio, a new radioformat replacing Solid Gold FM on all its frequencies aroundthe country: The Sound, aimed at 35-59 yearold males with “a contemporary, no-hype celebration oftimeless rock from the most formative years of the targetlisteners’ lives. From the Beatles to the Rolling Stones,Fleetwood Mac to Queen, the Eagles to David Bowie and U2,the playlist will deliver the music this audience grew upwith, with less talk and more of the best music of ageneration”. • • CONFIDENT: New Zealandbusinesses are slightly more optimistic about the year-aheadthan counterparts in the country’s major trading parties. Inthe latest Grant Thornton quarterly internationalbusiness report released in early January, the survey noteda cautious increase in New Zealand business optimism for2012, at a time when business confidence in Australia,United States and United Kingdom is in decline..

That’sit till next time. Hope your year is starting well and theweather is simply notmentioned!ends