2012 is election year in Guernsey and at our election themed quiz we though it very appropriate to have the brilliant minds [sic] of the local media solve all our problems by drawing up their own manifestos for the island.
Defending champions retain title in fine style…
The heady scent of competition was in the air last night as the cream of Guernsey’s media brains gathered at the Last Post to do battle in the Orchard Media Quiz 2012. Last year’s champions Channel TV faced challengers from BBC Guernsey, Island FM and GBG Magazine as well as the Guernsey Press, habitual winners of this grand competition until Channel got their hands on the trophy for the first time last year.
Handling the media is not a dark art
There can be no question that the new world we live in presents some extraordinary challenges for businesses; some we have never seen before and others we could have easily deflected in the past… not anymore. We live in a world of increasing transparency and accountability not least in terms of media expectation. We now have both traditional media and “new” media – a true age of 24 hour news.
Businesses are expected to talk, often on issues that are less than comfortable and certainly defend their position across a range of media platforms from newspapers to broadcast, LinkedIn to Twitter. In the past, an understanding of how the media works and how to deal with them may have been a “nice to have” but now it is vital if a business is to be seen to be reputable, accountable and to have a clear understanding of their position and messages to demonstrate expertise.
Being a credible spokesperson with an ability to craft positive and controlled messages has never been more important. Hiding and not engaging with the media is not an option. Worse still is being interviewed or writing a statement without understanding the media and doing it badly. The worst is rehearsing your message so much it is the only thing you say in an interview and you come across as a bit of a robot…
Gearing up for an election
Guernsey is preparing to head to the polls to choose their next 45 deputies and indications are that this could be the States’ first ‘social media’ election. This shift could help to engage younger voters in the political process and change the way politicians communicate with the public.
Young people and politics in Guernsey enjoy an uneasy relationship for many different reasons. These issues aren’t unique to Guernsey as democracies throughout the world are struggling to engage with young people. However there are several factors unique to island politics that create barriers to participation. Despite these underlying structural political issues, there is also cause for optimism.
Standard drinks do? Search me!
When G4S came to us for help organising an event they had booked a room at the OGH so the date, just weeks away, and the venue had already been decided.
The aim of the event was to herald the beginning of a new chapter in G4S history. Having recently acquired Guernsey Air Conditioning the company has reached an impressive size, more than 250 employees, and offers a range of services much wider than the air conditioning and airport security its component parts were best known for. Our job was to inject some personality and take the event from classic corporate to memorable meet-up.
A brainstorm at Orchard Towers yielded two bright ideas to set this event apart. First, there should be no long speeches but instead a short DVD which succinctly explained the vast range of services on offer. Second, a talking point would be created in the form of an airport security arch as an entrance to the event.
Tune up your social media
Social media, if you believe the hype, is the most important thing you need to focus your business on right now. Just for a nice change, the hype may be justified. Social media can be hugely powerful if harnessed in the right way. Making use of the networks, tools and platforms it provides can be very useful to online PR campaigns and can help win you precious profile and attention within a busy marketplace.
Jumping straight in and getting on with it can seem tempting. None of the tools themselves are that tricky to use, and there are online tutorials aplenty to show you how to design a Facebook page or win new Twitter followers quickly. However the first few steps in social media is also where many people get turned off. If there are no quick wins or no obvious results the feeling is often that they don’t ‘get it’ or more often that it doesn’t ‘get them’ and profiles are allowed to drift into dereliction.
