REALLY?

We ar off to a sparrrow fart  early breekie with PR and Communications types to hear  this fella talk. Eugene Ryder.  Thought we would do a bit of  home work  - we have crossed paths in our past. So it seems that Mr Ryder thinks that gang problems  stem from colonisation and that is worthy of a  treaty claim .

Pullleaaaase!...

apparently we are going to hear how to do PR for difficult types...  

The chick in charge of the NZ  Prostitutes Collective Catherine Healy is also going to talk on the same topic.

CARBON FOOT IN MOUTH

This has to be the oddest piece of research we have seen commissioned for some time. AgResearch has decided what the carbon cost is of the production of  NZ Lamb eaten in Britan.
Its come out of the blue and appears to be some sort of weird attempt to " benchmark " the carbon cost of producing NZ lamb. Sort of a marketing  "we will show you ours  now you show us yours" challenge.
You have  to first believe in the whole carbon malarky to buy into this sort of spurious crap in the first place.
Secondly its not a very " NZ Inc approach." If the same cockeyed logic is applied to fish - for instance - we expect that the equation will be even more odourous.

It is not obvious what the end game for the NZ meat industry is on this issue. The PR outcome of this is not clear apart from sparking an international debate on the issue.
It appears that the research indicates that the main bulk of  " carbon costs" come from down on the farm. Transport and retailing are minor bits. We will watch and wait with interest but we reckon it will undoubtedly create an international  scientific tit for tat.

EXCLUSIVE - FONTERRA STUFFUP DEVASTATES KIWI KIDS

Well we have all heard about how well Fonterra has been doing but hows this for big corporate bully bastards .

A mum we know well has written a letter to Andrew Ferrier after she got a shit response from the company.


Good evening Andrew -

It was a pleasure to meet you at the.....................................................last week


After meeting you briefly, you struck me as an approachable man with a commonsense head.

I have an issue arising at a personal, consumer level that I wonder if you could help me with. Please note this email is unrelated to work and my approach to you is as a private individual.

You may be aware of the Anchor Milk Moolah promotion currently running at retail. With two weeks left to run, the promotion has suddenly and without warning shut out thousands of NZ kids from access to its redemption (earned rather than auction) prizes. This move has caused distress to kiwi children, who have been encouraged to engage with the brand since September, saving up milk carton labels towards some great child-targeted prizes.

I spent a harrowing one and a half hours last night, comforting my 12 year old son, who is devastated. He discovered the news via the competition website - not declared openly at the outset, but buried in the deep-click details of each individual redemption prize, a particularly cowardly attempt to avoid attention.

I am at loss as to what to say to him. I had spent the last several weeks encouraging him to engage with the brand, I'd dutifully changed my buying habits to help him, I thought the promotion would be fun for him, engaging and a good lesson about working for and earning rewards over time (delayed gratification).

Instead, he's been smacked in the face with the reality that grown ups don't play fair, they don't honour their commitments to little kids, but they'll keep trying to get them to buy more milk (the promotional offer is still on pack and the withdrawal of redemption prizes was not explained on the website). It's an appalling lesson to learn at 12. I suspect my son is not alone and that others will be learning the same harsh lesson at even earlier ages. It's irresponsible, callous and unconscionable.

I contacted your call centre and received a scripted "tough luck" response. As a professional courtesy I also rang your PR service to let them know how negatively the promotion had impacted on my son and to see if there was an opportunity to make it right for him (by allowing him to redeem the points he had saved so hard for over so many weeks for the laptop he had dreamed of earning). The alternative was (and still is) to draw public and media attention to the brand's cavalier treatment of kids. I'm keen on my children learning from this experience not to be victims but to stand up for themselves. They are currently thinking about staging a public protest and picket at the supermarket.

The response I received from your PR team today was entirely unsatisfactory and arrogant - that's the way it's worked out and tough luck if you missed out. I was advised that there was an auction element and a bonus prize draw - but you know what? My 12 year old didn't want to win $50,000, or enter an auction for a car - he's 12, he doesn't even know what $50,000 looks like - he wanted to EARN a laptop of his very own.

I was told there had been huge interest in the promotion, as if that mitigated the company's behaviour, with 40,000 entrants (I was not surprised, it's a big brand, bought daily over 12 weeks, promoted with a large budget). I heard that some adults gamed the system, buying bulk milk supplies at once and donating the milk to shelters, since they were only interested in bidding for the cars. Fair enough, they were adult prizes. Those entrants weren't interested in engaging with the brand.

The second part of the prize pool was targeted at children, with child-aspirational prizes and a school element. In talking to your staff, I was advised that they were aware of some entrants (older than 12, I assume, my boy's smart, but not that sophisticated) writing computer programs to alert them the second new redemption prize stocks came on line, so they could swoop down and grab them up before the kids had a chance.

So, not only was the promotion woefully underprepared for the demand level, but you posted the last prize pool after kids went to bed. It's almost as if you didn't care about kids at all.

The kid-oriented redemption section of the prize pool got hijacked but some IT-sophisticated adults and Anchor's response to all of the children all around New Zealand who were, like my son, just a few labels away from their goal and thinking the promotion had two more weeks to go ( the deadline is still marked on our family calendar), was "tough luck, we said there was limited stock (but not how woefully inadequate)" and "never mind, there's always the prize draw".

Kids weren't in this for the cash, they wanted to earn prizes. They were almost at the finish line and your team took the game away with no regard at all for the impact it would have on them.

And by the way, your PR advisors have interpreted or "spun" my giving them a chance to make it right for my son as attempted "extortion". I don't think that's plausible and it is insensitive in the extreme.

My issues are these:

This is an appallingly put together sales promotion. Any well designed reward redemption promotion factors in the cost of prizes in relation to the sales required to earn it - that way, selling more milk should just mean buying more redemption stock, but no increase in cost. Marketers have been taught this basic rule for the last 20 years.

Stopping the redemption pool two weeks before the end of the promotion is just cruel and insensitive to kids. They don't understand if clever adults hijacked it, they just know the rules they thought they were working were just dismissed and they were shut out.

This is an appalling way for any brand to interact with children. Interacting with children involves an entirely different foundation of trust and expectation of responsibility than interacting with adults. What were you thinking?

I think you owe the children of New Zealand an apology. You certainly owe my son one.

I'd like to discuss this in more detail and am requesting a meeting so you can explain to Zachary why the rules of natural justice don't apply to little kids.

As I said at the beginning, you strike me as a fair man. I'd appreciate a direct response.

We think Fonterra needs to seriously rethink this one - its a very very bad look.

FAMILIES COMMISSION NEEDS A SMACK

How silly is this... The only thing the
Families Commission does of note is run the successful White Ribbon anti Domestic Violence Awareness campaign.


Now they also back the Super Maori Fullas who are strong champions for anti violence. But who the hell thought that a government agency should stick out a press release highlighting the fact that the Super Maori Fullas were going to ride to Wellington to complain about a hike in ACC bike levies?


More bizzare behaviour from the feel good flossies at the Families Commission. DUH!

Bike Riders have busy November

Thursday, 22 October 2009, 5:56 pm
Press Release: White Ribbon

Bike Riders throughout New Zealand have confirmed that they will participate in two rides during a busy November.

Motorcyclists are preparing to converge on Parliament next month to express their concerns about the proposed increases to ACC levies and a week later, take part in the first National White Ribbon Ride being organised by the Families Commission, Super Maori Fullas and the Patriot Motorcycle Club.
Shane Henry, former soldier and Patriot Motorcycle Club member, says “many riders I’ve spoken to are looking forward to a busy November. It’s the traditional start of the riding season with the onset of better riding weather.”

“While we are all concerned at the proposed increase in ACC charges, we are committed to riding for the benefit of others by taking part in the White Ribbon Ride. Our members want to stand up and say that violence to women is not OK. This is a message that we are passionate about,” says Shane.

The Patriots are all former or serving members of the New Zealand Defence Forces. Shane Henry says, “ New Zealand is seen as a peacekeeping nation and our members have a background of serving their country. We now want to play a part in reducing violence in our own neck of the woods. That’s why we are supporting the White Ribbon Ride. I just want to say to all motorcycle riders, join us on the White Ribbon Ride and let us show the country that we can unite and support this great cause.”

The White Ribbon leaves from Westpac Stadium in Wellington following four routes up the North Island . The four rides will visit over 35 towns and cities across the North Island picking up riders on their way north. At many of the ‘meet and greet’ locations, events have been planned and the public will have the opportunity to meet the riders.

Men throughout New Zealand who wish to join the White Ribbon Ride should visit www.whiteribbon.org.nz to register.

Avid rider Mike King says, “I’m looking forward to taking my Harley Davidson on the White Ribbon Ride. It’s an opportunity for men to pledge never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence towards women, and this is one ride that I’m not going to miss.”

“As a comedian and performer I’ve always been lucky that I get paid to do things I enjoy, so work and fun are often combined. On the White Ribbon Ride I get to ride my Harley and stand up for something I believe in.”
“Growing up I was taught by my father never to hit girls and I have passed this message on to my son and my nephews. In our whanau there is a zero tolerance level for violence of any sort towards women!"

“I also have two lovely daughters and I want them and their potential boyfriends to know that violence against women is not OK. I’m proud to take part in this ride and look forward to meeting other men who are willing to stand up and be counted. Not that I will be standing while riding my bike. Would be a shame to see my ACC premiums rise!”

Statistics in New Zealand
• An average of 14 women a year are killed by their partners or ex partners.
• There are over 3500 convictions recorded against men each year for assaults on women.
• One in three women will experience partner violence at some point in their lives.

Update: spotted by the eagled eyed Hong Kong harridan - White Ribbon is also sponsored by ... yip ACC.

CYNICISM GROWING OVER TV3 CHARITY

We blogged on the TV3 kids Can charity yesterday - we smell PR all over this one. And bugger me we buy the Sunday Star Times and Michael Laws has the same sense of unease.

Good on him , we hope there is more scrutiny of this event...

UPDATE :And there is - Keeping Stock joins the fray.

OLD BASTARD BUT A SMART BASTARD

We like the NBR online site. Its fast paced news style has it leading the pack on breaking business and political stories. ( we also receive no revenue from NBR, so its just pure professional admiration, just in case you are wondering but we think they need a feisty unpc blogger like Cactus Kate to liven things up a bit..) Then today NBR announced a new service which will worry Scoop. Its a press release service " From the horses mouth. Unedited press releases up on a an easy accessible site for all to see. Brill.

So to Barry Colman - we salute you - old and curmudgeonly you may be but you can still sniff the breeze and know where the wind is coming from.

LESS IS MORE - VEITCH NEEDS BETTER PR

First principles of damage control - say less, not more, dont hint about dirt, unless you can claim the moral high ground and you can slam dunk the otherside, and dont ever over expose your self in the media. It creates the me, me, me look.

The revelations in the Sunday Star Times, Sunday News and Herald on Sunday that Veitch has again been thinking of suicide are no surprise. He is under immense pressure. But he is paying for good advice and we are not convinced he has got his monies worth. His advisors are being paid to help Veitch tell his story - and it has not been told well. The emails, if released earlier, may have elicited more sympathy for Veitch.

However we were right about Kirstin Dunne- Powell - she is a paua, a clingon, the irrationality of obsessive love burns bright in her eyes, even now.

So Cactus reckons that Veitch should head to far shores to get away from it all. A couple a weeks in Stewart Island or the West Coast where people don't give a shit about celebrity and show you what matters in life are where the boy should head.

He needs perspective.

REALLY CRAP JOURNALISM

We expect better. This story in the Herald should read -

Press Release from Corrections on Prison Drug Rates.

New figures released by the Department of Corrections show the number of prisoners using drugs has hit a record low.

Acting prison services assistant general manager Leanne Field said the number of prisoners returning positive results after being randomly tested had plummeted to 10.5 per cent, the lowest rate ever recorded across all prisons in New Zealand.

"This is a major achievement given that 34 per cent of prisoners tested positive when testing began in the late 1990," Mrs Field said.

She said the reduction had been achieved through ongoing investment and improvement in prison security, and enhanced visitor and prisoner searching.

"We also undertake regular searches with our 12 drug dog teams and have a highly skilled intelligence team who work to stop criminal activities within prison."

Mrs Field said getting further declines was a challenge as prisoners and their associates in the community were inventive in identifying ways to smuggle contraband into prison.

She said there was also a focus on reducing the demand for drugs in prison through treatment clinics.

- NZPA

Come on = both the Herald, and NZPA who put the story out could have done better.
- some of the questions that need to be asked are:

1. How many years has the Department been gathering statistics on random drug testing?
2. What percentage of the prison population is drug tested?
   
3. What prisons are tested?
   
4. What drugs are the tests used for?
5. Has the survey changed over time?
   
6. What ratio of males and females are tested?
   
7. What type of tests are used?
   
8. What are the punishments for positive drug tests?
9. What segment of the prison population are tested? Minimum, medium or maximum security ?
10. How is the "randomness" of testing decided?
    

Simple stuff really. Readers deserve more. Journalists need to do more probing.
We just find it interesting that "P" probably wasn't even registering in 1990 - It certainly wasn't when we were working for Corrections in a medium security prison.
So we smell a rat.. a big stinky PR spinning rat.

THEY HAVE HIDDEN THEM

The Herald looks at the cap that SSC Minister Tony Ryall has imposed on the public service and has zeroed in on the communications sector. The numbers don't stack up. The government needs to insure that it takes a look at " Information departments " which are a home for all PR people who specialise in on line communications and often internal communications specialists. The trend started midway last year to shuffle communications staff around and tuck them in what is essentially an adjunct to IT departments while still churning out on line communications and in some cases publications. It was cynical ploy by comms managers to ensure that they still had a small army under their command.

So someone needs to go through all departments and ask some very specific question's to get the real answer to how many communications specialists are hiding in " non communications " groups.

TIME TO LANCE THE BOYLE?

We are more and more turning to the NBR for up to the minute biz news and commentary. Today is this very funny insight from Allan Swann into how Fonterra's communications czars handled the half year result.


NBR has the story here



Here's an excerpt

6) Sit through a relatively easy press conference, reading almost word for word from said press release.

7) Make up absurd reasons why the 'results' were late and provided incomplete, during phone conference question time.

Blame either:
a) An earlier boardroom meeting that ran over time

b) That some journalists' email accounts can't accept email attachments.

8) After complaints from journalists, provide balance sheet data – by email in an attachment – at 12.53PM – nearly two hours past deadline.

9) Wonder why your company engenders suspicion from shareholders, the fourth estate and the general public.

SUMMER HOLIDAY

Well everyone round town is gasbagging about the perception that the government is on holiday at a critical time. What crap.
And its more than a little precious of Labour to get all pious about Key taking a break. They were always missing in action around Christmas New Year. In fact it was hard to get sense out of any Labour ministers office till the end of January, so the fact that Key has his boys fronting up this week definitely puts him ahead in the readiness stakes.

We were with a senior journalist the other day and she wasn't impressed about Key being ensconced in Hawaii. She wondered if his kids were missing their mates and their kiwi holidays and that his first Xmas should have been in NZ on holiday with the masses. Part of Keys appeal is that he is one of us who's made good and that he hasn't lost touch with who he really is but she reckoned buggering off to Hawaii for secluded Xmas set him apart. We think Clarks cold mountain expeditions at the height of summer set her apart from the rest of NZ as a odd fish.
But the biggest problem that the Nats have had over this issue is one of Perception. Labour used to ensure that it appeared busy over Xmas and it did it very very well. While McCully did a stirling job of fronting the main political issues all the other Ministers should have had announcements to make over the holiday period. That was the trick the Labour used. Low level announcements that became the breathless focus of the bored and often junior Xmas reporters on the xmas roster. Key should have also granted one really good in depth interview for Tv1 while on Holiday. Again its all about perception.

Now we have Key looking like he is reacting to the media over their perceptions of his lack of activity by announcing the meeting of his powerful economic team which we knew about weeks ago. A bit more pro active media activity is needed by the Nats to ensure that the government is not just working, as we know they are, but are Seen to be working.

But hell what do we know? ;-)

FONTERRA STILL DROWING IN SEA OF CONTAMINATED MILK

Fran O'sullivan is one of our favourite columnists. shes not boring like Colin James and todays missive is one of her best. In many ways its a brave column. Fonterra is the white backbone of the economy and her critical analysis should be read with concern by all farmer shareholders. What we still want to know is how many babies have really died. Epidemiologists we have talked to reckon that there have been waaaay more deaths that the four reported. Ferriers lack of intel on what was happening around the guilty plea by the San Lu company chair made him look like a dick.

We also reckon that Fonterras handling of this issue will be used as a PR example of what not to do by all tutors of the dark arts.

update - this from Macdoctor

Your epidemiologist friends are certainly right. At one point China reported 158 babies were in acute kidney failure. Given that this is a serious condition needing a lot of specialised equipment, it is unlikely all of them survived.

A neonatologist friend reckoned that 20-30% would die within a month or two and about half of the survivors would die within the next 10 years from complications of chronic renal failure.

Yes. You did read that right. 30-40 babies are already dead. Another 50-60 will not see their teens.

Feel free to be sick. I know I will.

BIG QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK

1)Remember the story that appeared in the Herald a couple of days after the election, that never really got legs because Key stitched together a govt faster than a Hong Kong Tailor can stitch together a suit, about the $100k that Vela gave both NZ First and Labour ?Well what we want to know is who is going to keep a track on what Winston does with it?

2) We know there are at least 4 more interviews with grumpy scampi skippers - when are they going to end up on U Tube?

3) How long will it be before we see the results on the inquiry into the Immigration /shane Jones/ Bill Liu passport for donation allegations?

4) Will there be any good stories being written after National has poached all the good journalists?

5) How many Ministers told Department CE's that their briefings to incoming Ministers were crap?

6) Which Wellington property developer has skiddy undies as the defaults on various transactions start to pile up?

7) Which PR company is so desperate to curry favour with its clients that its offering one hour " one on one insider briefings" to CE's for free even though they were Labour pets and have F***k all contacts in National?

8) How many massive government departments comms teams went through "restructuring" in the last 6 months and renamed some of their staff as information management or knowledge management, or other such weasel terms in an effort to hide them from any National departmental review?

9) Why were a bunch of Maori getting out of a Crown Car on the Wharf last Thursday when there was no Minister around? If it was good enough for Dame Whina to walk why can't they ?

10) Who wasn't at St Johns Bar on Friday Night Basking in the sun and does this mean that the " Drycleaners ( Dockside where you go to get a Suit) finally has some serious Friday night competition as the place to be seen and pick up a lazy shag on Friday night?


and yes big questions of the week will be a regular feature - feel free to send us contributions - bustedblonde@gmail.com

RISING MAORI BUSINESSMAN

This well known Maori PR guru is now a director of one of the capitals most prestigious PR firms.

Chris Wikaira is now a director / part owner of Busby Ramshaw Grice.

He is undoubtedly one of the best in his field and has garnered huge respect for his knowledge and work in Maori issues. He has played a part in just about all the major Maori events over the last decade.

He is a bloody good bastard as well. But never let him near your fridge - He really enjoys a kai.

SHONKY SURVEY GOOD EXAMPLE OF PR DARK ARTS

The NZ Herald has followed Stuff and been sucked in by Fonterras competitors. The San Lu milk scandal is as bad as it gets but this story which appeared in Stuff yesterday , raised the ire of Roarprawn. Two clicks to the Sinlogie website showed that they do a hell of a lot of work for a very big dairy exporter in USA. ( Probably Dairy America)

This is why PR gets a bad name - this is a classic example of the dark arts, and at a time when New Zealand and Fonterra need informed media coverage we get this pap. Here's what the Herald had this morning.

More than half of Chinese consumers have less trust in New Zealand dairy produce because of the poisonous-milk powder crisis engulfing Fonterra, says a survey by Sinogie Consulting.

This is the worrying bit.

Fonterra's 43 per cent-owned Chinese dairy company San Lu is one of 22 firms caught up in the scandal over the industrial chemical melamine being added to watered-down milk to boost apparent protein levels. The contamination has made tens of thousands of infants ill and killed at least four.

Sinogie, a Hong Kong company, commissioned a survey of 300 shoppers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou between September 22 and 25 and found 51.2 per cent had less trust in New Zealand dairy produce.

Wow that's a big survey.!

Sinogie chief executive Bruce McLaughlin was surprised the figure was not higher.

"What it suggests to me is that people are still seeing this as a San Lu problem."

Suggests???! A hint perhaps - and a nice time for a another brand to infuse the market.

There was not much damage to Fonterra at present but that could change in the long term.

"I would say that Fonterra has to keep its head very low in China at the moment. I think if they start shouting too loudly about the Chinese authorities being to blame, then the Chinese authorities will react and it won't be pretty."

More than half the respondents (56.2 per cent) said they had been buying more foreign-branded dairy produce since the scandal broke, while 79.8 per cent were worried that all brands of infant formula, domestic and foreign, could be contaminated.

New Zealand came second behind the European Union when people were asked to rank food from markets for trustworthiness.

"I think New Zealand itself enjoys such a strong brand that while Fonterra is obviously probably your biggest food company, I think people will still have a lot of faith in other New Zealand brands."

Mr McLaughlin said he had seen many companies run into difficulty in China.

"I think that people are blinded by this idea of mysterious China still. Because of that they don't think that they should go in with the same level of caution [as if] investing in Australia or America or somewhere like that."

A Fonterra spokesman said the company approached its investment in San Lu very cautiously.

"Fonterra has been doing business in China for over 20 years so the company was well aware of not just the business but also the wider political and cultural complexities of operating as a foreign company in China."

Fonterra undertook very deliberate and careful due diligence before making the decision to invest, he said.

Its strategy was to progressively upgrade operations and it had also begun a plan to introduce better-quality milk to the supply chain by investing in its first farm in China.

"However, in moving to steadily improve San Lu's quality-control systems, it was impractical to be in a position to protect 100 per cent against all risks to San Lu's supply chain such as a deliberate criminal contamination

Journalists need to be very careful of running stories like this - this has been picked up everywhere as people want to know more about this issue. But instead they are being given at worse a false picture nicely planted by a competitor of New Zealand dairy interests .