Keynote speaker at FUSION 2017 Gabrielle Dolan

One of the joys of being a member of global communications community IABC is attending the world conference each June.

The range of senior communicators from all over the world, and all different parts of our profession, the fantastic speakers and presentations, and of course the convivial partying make it an event not to be missed.

However, a trip to the US or Canada (where the communications conference is held each year) is not always within reach of everyone’s professional development budget.

This year, IABC Asia Pacific is hosting FUSION 2017, a fantastic conference in Singapore in August. Cicero Communications will be sending a representative.

As part of IABC Qld’s commitment to supporting and developing our community of professional communicators, the chapter is offering a member-only scholarship opportunity to attend Fusion 2017, worth more than $1000.

IABC Queensland is encouraging all interested members to apply (and interested communicators to join our chapter then apply).

The scholarship includes a ticket to the three-day conference in Singapore plus $550 towards airfare/accommodation (the scholarship winner will be responsible for the rest of their expenses to attend the conference).

Attendees will be able to connect with professional communicators from across the APAC region and the world to inspire, create connections, foster best practices, and promote leadership in the profession. Let’s hope we have a great representation of Queensland’s communication industry at the conference.

If Fusion 2017 sounds of interest and value to you, you should join IABC Qld and apply for this special IABC Qld scholarship.

Please email iabcqld@gmail.com for the simple one page entry form (final submissions must be received at this email address before 5pm Friday 19 May 2017). The successful applicant will be notified by 31 May 2017.

If you’d like more information on this scholarship or on IABC Qld chapter membership, contact chapter president Dana Burrows on 0401 482 484.

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Without a doubt the last three months at Cicero Communications has been the best public relations internship I’ve ever experienced.

I’ve come away with employable skills, a deeper knowledge of public relations, and meaningful relationships that will be invaluable for my career in the future.

This internship gives a broad exposure to key PR skills but also has the flexibility for students to show their talent in particular fields. Past interns have worked in various areas, such as conducting interviews, media release writing, social media content management, blogging, photography and corporate writing.

My role  involved assisting with media relations for the Mother’s Day Classic, including press releases, editorial pitches to publications and researching potential contacts for newsworthy stories. I updated the media database, attended Brisbane Mother’s Day Classic Committee meetings and conducted interviews for editorial pitches.

I created a social media campaign, pitched it and was over the moon when it was accepted by Mother’s Day Classic. I was responsible for creating social media video content that could be broadcast on the Mother’s Day Classic’s Facebook and YouTube accounts to promote the event in future. Each video was a collaboration of film clips from interviews that represented a theme leading up to the event, such as volunteering, registration and organising a team.

For me, the biggest challenge was having the confidence to speak to professionals over the phone and making sure there were no mistakes with email correspondence. I was able to overcome this challenge and my attention to detail dramatically improved.

I also improved my habit of rushing tasks to meet deadlines – Kathryn was fantastic at showing me the importance of ensuring quality control.

And soon enough came the day of the Mother’s Day Classic, which was an amazing event. To see the result of everyone’s efforts and how much it meant to them was something truly unique and beautiful. It made me appreciate how outstanding the results can be through hard work, passion and collaboration. I will definitely be running in the Mother’s Day Classic in 2017.

I think what I loved about this internship was that I didn’t feel like a student that was a volunteering intern – I felt like a Public Relations professional. Kathryn Britt is amazing at Public Relations and is an invaluable mentor. She ensured my objectives would be met, including having a foundation of skills and knowledge that has made me more employable for future positions.

This is no regular internship. If you are lucky enough to be involved with Kathryn Britt at Cicero Communications, you will learn so much and come away thinking you had more potential that you realised.

Mother’s Day Classic PR intern Hannah Wadley with a run participant

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IABC Queensland social media event

So many conferences, too little time.

As a small business owner in the PR and communications space, attendance at a few well chosen conferences each year is a great way to keep on top of trends and innovations and to make amazing contacts.

So conferences for me are not a chore – though it’s always that weigh-up between time spent away from the office (and family) and benefits gained in terms of knowledge, innovation, ideas, networking and inspiration. The International Association of Business Communicators’ world conference is coming up in June. Having attended past world conferences, this is one I always do try to schedule time for.

However a major client announcement in June means that sadly I’ll be following the 2016 IABC world conference with interest via Twitter, LinkedIn and Periscope (sob – and not just because it will be held in New Orleans, the list of speakers and topics is excellent).

As a consolation, I’m looking forward to my third Corporate Affairs Summit in Sydney in May. The last two years I’ve met some fantastic communicators there, and also been able to spread the word about IABC to a range of communications professionals. This year, one of the sessions I’m most looking forward to is the panel (involving leaders from the NRL’s Bulldogs, the Taxi Council and Hotels Association) on reputation management.

One great thing about our IABC community is when you can’t be at every conference every time, there is always a colleague willing to share their learnings.

And so it is with our next IABC Queensland Meet-Up on Wednesday May 4, 5.30-7pm.

IABC Qld director Mel Kettle will be fresh from the Social Media Marketing World conference 2016 in San Diego. SMMW is the world’s largest social media marketing conference, highlighting the best and newest ways to deploy and track social tactics. For IABC Qld’s members and friends, Mel will be giving a great overview of latest social media trends.

If you haven’t been to one of IABC Qld’s new Meet-Up series, our aim is to provide Queensland communicators with tools and techniques from amazing speakers, with time to ask questions and network with attendees – all in a super affordable, 1.5 hour block. We had between 30 to 40 comms professionals attend each of our first two Meet-Ups (on crisis communications and speed networking).

We’ve got a new venue this month, the Trophy Room at the Paddo Tavern, as we are expecting a good crowd for Mel’s social media overview.

You can find more information and secure your ticket at this EventBrite link.

See you there!

And of course many thanks to Mel Kettle for taking the time to share her insights. Mel is a communication and social media strategist, speaker, blogger, educator, board member and podcaster. She has worked in marketing communications for more than 20 years and began consulting 9 years ago. She has a Master of Business in Marketing and a Master of Public Health and describes herself as a keen “eatie” as opposed to a foodie! She’s prolific about her passions on Twitter (find her @melkettle). She also loves to travel, as showcased in her food and travel blog which is well worth a look – The cook’s notebook.

This post is an extension of a LinkedIn post by Cicero Communications director Kathryn Britt

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Recently Cicero worked on the public relations campaign for the release of the fourth Scottish Pacific SME Growth Index. 

This SME Growth Index provides an interesting snapshot of what Australia’s business owners are happy or concerned about, and takes a close look at sentiment around small business growth.

Sky Business News amongst others covered the release of the Index. It also got a great response on social media. You’ll find some of the media coverage, including a case study and CEO interview, here, here and here.

Most media picked up on the angle that the SME Growth Index found the number of SMEs resorting to personal finances (including credit cards with high interest charges) to support business growth is very high at 65%, with 17% regularly drawing on personal finances and 48% doing so occasionally.

Only 10 percent of SME owners had never settled business expenses using non-business sources.

Other interesting results from the latest Index include that the number of SMEs looking first to borrow from their main relationship bank is falling, and more and more small to medium businesses are looking beyond the banks for credit. There has been an increase of just over 20 percent in the demand for non-bank lending in the past six months.

Another significant finding was that SMEs were more than willing to pay higher rates to obtain finance if it meant they didn’t have to provide real estate security – much better not to have the family home at risk!

For a free, full copy of the latest SME Growth Index visit Scottish Pacific’s research page to download.

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Mother’s Day Classic - register now at www.mothersdayclassic.com.au

Thursday February 4 is World Cancer Day. The day all cancer charities and their supporters unite to raise awareness and encourage others to take action.
“What can I do to help?” I hear you ask. How about registering and fundraising for Mother’s Day Classic 2016?

Cicero Communications has been a supporter of Mother’s Day Classic since 2006. We have met some amazing people in that time, and heard stories that would make you rejoice, or make you weep. If you have one minute (and seventeen seconds) to hear one of these amazing stories, listen to breast cancer researcher Dr Kara Britt in this moving YouTube video.

This year Mother’s Day Classic is hoping to raise $4 million for breast cancer research in Australia. If everyone raises just $50, we’ll smash out target.

The Cicero team is working hard to promote the event right around Australia, with the help of volunteers in every state. At HQ, we are excited to welcome on board our 2016 MDC public relations intern Hannah Wadley from QUT.

Increasingly, this colourful national event has become a way for groups of families and friends, gym buddies and work colleagues, to participate in a healthy, fun activity to kick off Mother’s Day. There are more than 100 events around Australia so there’s sure to be one near you (if not, help start one!).

We’d love your help to make the event a great success. Let’s make #MDC2016 our biggest yet!

Here’s what you can do to spread the word on social media:

Post to your Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts to raise awareness and encourage others to take action.We want to flood the internet with pink.

Choose your favourite image from MDC’s collection of tiles and post it to your Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. Use the hashtags #WorldCancerDay #MDC2016 and #ADayToUnite to join the digital conversation for World Cancer Day – and for every day after that up to the Sunday May 8 event, use the #MDC2016 hashtag.

Remember to tag Mother’s Day Classic in your posts so they can see your handiwork – Facebook: @mdcwalkrun, Twitter: @MDC_walk_run and Instagram: @mdc_walk_run.

And if you know of an amazing participant who takes part in Mother’s Day Classic and is willing to share their story in the media to promote the event, contact mothersdayclassicATciceroDOTnetDOTau.

- Kathryn Britt, director

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Learn how to build, expand and manage communities using social media at IABC Qld’s latest event

Tickets are NOW AVAILABLE for IABC Queensland’s latest social media event, with a stellar panel talking about best practice in how to build or expand communities using social media.Book now for the 12-2pm session on Thursday 5 November 2015 at Four Points by Sheraton in Brisbane.

This event offers a great learning opportunity as well as being a great chance to network with a wide range of communications professionals. It is a must-attend session for community managers, digital marketing and communication professionals, small to medium business owners, bloggers and anyone else looking at building and expanding communities using social media.

IABC Queensland has put together an expert panel, representing corporate, government and small business:

•     Jason Laird, Executive Director Communications and Chief Social Officer, Telstra Corporation
•     Julie Holt, Director, Social Media and Marketing, Digital Delivery, Australian Tax Office
•     Deb Peralta, Founder, Dello Mano Luxury Brownies

Professional development topics to be covered in this session moderated by Mel Kettle include:

•     building, expanding and managing communities
•     how to engage, inspire and motivate your fans
•     which social platforms are best for your business
•     using social media to improve customer service
•     creating useful content and user generated content
•     case studies.

Tickets are $100 for IABC members and $140 for non-members and this includes a two-course sit down lunch with a glass of wine on arrival.

Why not become a member of IABC Queensland to qualify for the member price? October is a great time to join, with the $40 join fee waived and a 10% discount on international dues. You can sign up for IABC here, or contact IABC Queensland chapter president kathryn britt AT cicero DOT net DOT au for more information.

Bookings via Eventbrite. Please share this link with your networks!

The post Building Communities with Social Media – IABC Qld panel event appeared first on Cicero Communications.

Xiao Yi Sun, the widow of Jian Zhou, pictured with Ian Frazer

Congratulations to Professor Ian Frazer of The University of Queensland, and his research colleague the late Jian Zhou, on being voted Popular Prize winners at the European Patent Office’s prestigious European Inventor Award ceremony in Paris.

Professor Frazer, a former Australian of the Year, and Jian Zhou’s widow Xiao Yi Sun, were at the ceremony in Paris to accept the award, in front of an audience of world-class researchers and inventors. Hearty congratulations to you both!

Cicero Communications was delighted to partner with global PR firm Shepard Fox to provide the Australian PR for this campaign, achieving more than 100 media hits in a two-stage campaign (announcement of finalists and announcement and winners) across TV, radio, national newspapers and online media.

The global campaign was a major task, with PR professionals working on the ground in more than a dozen countries including France, Great Britain, China, Australia, Japan and the USA.

Almost 47 000 people from around the world voted and named Ian Frazer (Australia) and Jian Zhou (China) as the winners for their vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV).

The invention by Ian Frazer and Jian Zhou at the University of Queensland, Australia, changed preventative women’s health forever. Their progressive vaccine disrupts the link between human papillomavirus (HPV) – a sexually-transmitted virus infecting the skin and mucosal tissues – and cervical cancer.

The widely available vaccine, Gardasil, has been used more than 125 million times since market entry in 2006, and is now used in 121 countries. The WHO and public health agencies in Australia, Canada, Europe and the US recommend vaccination against HPV for young women aged nine to 25. The vaccine signifies a vital step forward in the fight against cancer, in particular for regions without basic healthcare and no preventive diagnostic procedures.

Learn more about Professor Frazer’s win here and more about his latest research at https://www.tri.edu.au/.

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• Now used in 120 countries and administered more than 125 million times so far

• EPO President Battistelli: “Their invention has saved countless lives and will continue to protect many women from this devastating form of cancer in future.”

Munich/ Brisbane, 21 April 2015 – Every year more than 530,000 women worldwide receive the diagnosis of cervical cancer. It the second most common type of cancer in women, and one of the deadliest (about 275,000 women died from cervical cancer in 2013 alone, according to the World Health Organization). But there is hope: Australian immunologist Ian Frazer and his late Chinese colleague Jian Zhou, who died in 1999, developed a vaccine against cervical cancer. The method is ground-breaking because it focuses on prevention, which can be life-saving, in particular for women without regular access to healthcare.

For this achievement, Ian Frazer and Jian Zhou today have been named finalists for the European Inventor Award 2015 in the category “Non-European Countries”.

“Ian Frazer and Jian Zhou are pioneers of modern medicine,” said EPO President Benoȋt Battistelli announcing the finalists.

“In their fight against cervical cancer, they focused on the cause rather than on the symptoms of the disease. Developing a vaccine has saved countless lives and also saved many women from a protracted and painful course of treatment, involving surgery and chemotherapy.”

Vaccine offers full protection against cervical cancer

Scottish-born Ian Frazer based his ground-breaking invention on the research of the German physician and Nobel Prize Winner Harald zur Hausen. For a long time, the medical world believed the herpes virus caused cervical cancer. In 1976, it caused a sensation when Dr zur

Hausen first mentioned the human papillomavirus (HPV) as playing a role in cervical cancer. The sexually-transmitted virus infects the skin and mucosal tissues, which in the worst case can cause cervical cancer. In the early 1980s, the German virologist then identified the so-called “high-risk” types of HPV, mainly HPV 16 and HPV 18, as the main cause behind more than 70 percent of all cervical cancers, as well as a number of other types of cancer in both women and men.

Ian Frazer put these findings at the centre of his own research. As early as 1985, having emigrated to Australia, he set up the world’s first research group to concentrate solely on developing a vaccine against cervical cancer. However, it proved impossible to grow the HPV virus in the laboratory, making a vaccine based on live viral elements unfeasible.

After many years of experimenting and various setbacks, Ian Frazer and the Cambridge immunologist and gene specialist Jian Zhou cloned HPV surface proteins onto a different virus that served as a template. The human immune system reacts to these harmless virus-like particles and forms antibodies, thereby building immunity. The vaccine derived from this offers full protection from the dangerous HPV types 16 and 18.

From these first successes, it took almost 15 years until the vaccine was ready for market. In 1991, working at the University of Queensland, Frazer and Zhou filed a patent application for the missing link between the genuine virus and its artificially produced “representative”. This was a milestone achievement for the now-widely available HPV vaccines.  In 1995, Frazer and Zhou started cooperating with US pharmaceutical company Merck & Co to develop the vaccine, called Gardasil. After three years of testing, the scientists completed the first trials on humans in 1998 with outstanding results. A cycle of three injections offers full protection against HPV for up to five years. After Jian Zhou’s unexpected death in 1999 due to an illness at the age of 42, Ian Frazer continued their joint work until the vaccine was ready for market.

Frazer was the inaugural CEO and Director of Research at the Translational Research Institute, where he continues researching therapeutic vaccines for patients already infected with HPV. The vaccines are currently in clinical testing. The Institute came about because of his vision and his determination to assist other researchers to translate their discoveries into health benefits for the world.

HPV vaccine becomes standard

In 2006, Gardasil was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The vaccine is now used in 121 countries and has been administered more than 125 million times. In 2013, Gardasil reached total worldwide sales of about EUR 1.49 billion. In December 2014, the FDA approved Gardasil’s follow-up vaccine which is designed to protect against nine different strains of HPV and sales are expected to reach about EUR 1.55 billion

by 2018. This vaccine received preliminary approval in Europe at the end of March 2015. UK pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline produces another widely-used cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix, based on Frazer’s and Zhou’s method. The WHO as well as public health agencies in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States now recommend vaccination against HPV for young women aged 9 to 25. Most countries in the developed world now have government-funded school or community-based public health programs targeting 12-14 year old girls. Australia also has a public health program for boys, as HPV also causes some cancers in men.

Affordable immunisation protection for developing countries

In the western world, cervical cancer can be treated if diagnosed in good time, and, as a consequence, few women die from it. According to the WHO about 85 percent of all deaths from cervical cancer occur in low or middle-income countries – the University of Queensland has therefore waived royalties on Gardasil sales in 72 developing countries. The vaccine signifies a vital step forward in the fight against cancer, in particular for regions without basic healthcare and no preventive diagnostic procedures.

Press contacts:

In Brisbane, Australia: Cicero / Shepard Fox Communications

Kathryn Britt   Tel.: 0414 661 616 or 07 3716 0756   kathryn@cicero.net.au

European Patent Office

Mr Rainer Osterwalder Press Spokesperson Tel: +49 (0)89 2399-1820 Mobile: +49 (0)163 8399527 rosterwalder@epo.org

About the European Inventor Award

Launched in 2006, the European Inventor Award is presented annually by the European Patent Office. The award honours inventive individuals and teams whose pioneering work provides answers to the challenges of our age and thereby contributes to social progress, economic growth and prosperity. Fifteen finalists and, subsequently, the winners are chosen from among the nominees by a high-profile international jury. The award is presented in five categories: Industry, Research, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Non-European countries, and Lifetime achievement.

About the EPO

With more than 7,000 staff, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Its headquarters are in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna. The EPO was founded to strengthen co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO’s centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in the 38 member states of the European Patent Organisation. The EPO is also the world’s leading authority in patent information and patent searching.

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Thoughts from the Future of Leadership conference, by Cicero MD Kathryn Britt

When you find yourself in a room of 500 odd (well, some not that odd) enthusiastic people at a leadership conference, you can tend to cynicism or as our lovely MC said you can “drink the Kool-Aid” and go with the flow.

And who knows, with an open mind there’s a very good chance that one or two good things will resonate with you. They may be revelations or simply reinforcements of things you’ve forgotten, that you can use to transform your business.

I was fortunate to attend the Future of Leadership conference in Brisbane recently. One day, one bunch of highly entertaining and clued up speakers, and one very good cause being supported by the event.

Peter Baines’ Hands Across the Water charity was the beneficiary of the conference (speakers generously donated their time and travel costs - the registration fee was ridiculously reasonable given the calibre of the speakers). It’s worth visiting their website to learn more about the great work they do.

I got something from all the speakers, but in the interests of brevity here are a few of my key take-outs: (it may not be rocket science, but sometimes having ideas reiterated can give you a real “aha” moment about how to apply them to your work, your clients and even your private life)

1. Leaders need to understand the neurochemicals they bring out in their team – and help dish out the good ones! Transactional leadership is long gone. Bring human back and connect more, communicate authentically. (Darren Hill)

2. Active, constructive conversations lead to happy teams. Don’t just say nice things – what cements relationships is when two people are actively constructive. Celebrate victory, this brings people together. (Dr Adam Fraser)

3. “We can’t change what happened, but we can change what happens next.” With his moving presentation about setting up a charity for Thai children in the aftermath of the devastating Boxing Day tsunami, Peter Baines’ message really resonated. This is a mantra I’ll be incorporating into my home and work life! Also, “a good leader engineers shared experiences” – so true, and again a philosophy I want to remember at work and at play. (Peter Baines)

4. “Everybody has a story to tell, you just have to ask. Ask your employees their dreams. People’s stories tells you what’s in them – for you. Leadership is a privilege – appreciate the people around you, believe in their dreams.” Tricia’s personal story was compelling – and beautifully told. (Tricia Velthuizen)

5. A sense of progress motivates staff – make sure you communicate progress or teams get disheartened and give up. Make it visible. (This from the deliciously dapper fellow ranga, Dr Jason Fox)

Looking through my notes, this also resonated with me (and sorry I can’t attribute it, the cat ate my notes): As a leader, bring enough of yourself and something to share. Ask for energy.

The speakers at the Future of Leadership certainly asked for and received energy from the audience, and gave something of themselves. A great event, and worth keeping an eye on for 2015 as they tackle the Future of Culture in organisations.

(By the way, the awesome visual presentation at the top of this post was one of many from the day from visual mojo guru Lynne Cazaly).

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Corporate Affairs Summit 2014

Thanks to IABC Queensland, I was lucky enough to attend the national Corporate Affairs Summit in Sydney in (ahem… I’ve been busy) late May.

It was well worthwhile, and I’d certainly encourage anyone who works in corporate affairs to add this event to their calendar for 2015.

The quality of the national and international speakers was excellent, and there were great networking opportunities with 300 senior comms colleagues.

Key themes included the growth of storytelling and the importance of internal comms over external media relations amongst global organisations.

Highlights included:

• 1.A fascinating insight from Pierre Goad, the global co-head of communications for HSBC Holdings, on dealing with reputational challenges. Pierre heads a 400+ comms team around the world, and captured the audience with his overview of how HSBC was able to overcome the damage of three years ago when the US and UK arms of the business faced a billion dollar fine (for issues including banking for Mexican drug lords). A key quote from Pierre: ž“Our most important audience was our employees, communicating with them took up 80% of my time.” Repairing morale and lines of communication with HSBC staff went a huge way towards improving the company’s external image. Pierre gave us an insightful rundown of their successful Shut Up and Listen and Boss Free TV projects. Check out some of the great videos they used to engage staff – and external audiences – here. Another great quote on their strategy and why it worked: ž“It’s easy to hate a company, it’s hard to hate a person just like you.”

2.A presentation by the global head of comms at GE, Helene Klasky, on engagement, and creating stories that humanise.

3. A compelling speech from Melissa Fleming, UN HCC Refugees Head of Communications, on communicating in a crisis or when a situation seems overwhelming. Melissa’s advice in a crisis: find a single person to humanise and focus on, otherwise people can get overwhelmed by a crisis or issue. Also: Don’t just inform… What? Why Care? What NOW? Melissa is well worth a follow on Twitter – @melissarfleming.

And finally, to inspire delegates with his youthful enthusiasm and panache, there was a mighty presentation from Daniel Flynn of Thankyou Water. His company story is inspirational and such a great cause, and I’ll sign off this post with some words from Daniel that certainly resonated with me, and might do for your business:

“žTake a risk – who says we have to do things the way they’ve always been done? Sometimes the status quo needs a high five in the face with a chair!”.

See you at CAS next year!

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