July 3, 2009 at 2:35 pm · Filed under Australia
Yesterday was a mental health day. It’s the start of the new financial year and the last one provided enough headaches that I took one day off. It was great to eliminate low-level static by completing banking, errands, doctor visits and the likes.
In BankWest yesterday I was asked if I wanted a cup of water. I was given a paper cup with the following sentence in large letters:
“Bank Takes W Out of Banker”
As an American in Australian I marvel at the wonderful use of humour in marketing. The inference that other bankers are wankers is wonderful. And you never expect a bank to be so straight-forward and provocative.
Australians are masters at taking the high and mighty down to the lowest common denominator. And the fresh, blunt style is refreshing.
June 30, 2009 at 10:48 am · Filed under Globalisation
Mourning used to be conducted in private. When a loved one died we would retire to the inner most sanctum of our homes for private time with loved ones. When a hard of state or beloved icon died, we might gather at the church or cemetery to pay our respects. Then Diana died and our mourning turned public.
Today that most private of emotions – grief – is on display with vast public outpourings for Michael Jackson. Record stores have sold out of his music. Producers are rushing a new CD of unreleased music to capture what they call “grief momentum.” Jackson is projected to overtake Elvis’s US$50 million per year in royalties. He’ll be the most lucrative dead star in history.
I can’t help but feel a little odd about all this. It certainly isn’t the first time the public has turned to their wallets to assuage grief. I lived in Hong Kong when Gianni Versace was murdered. All stores around the world were closed, spare the one in Central, Hong Kong. Extra security guards were hired. Velvet ropes kept the crowds in queue. And before lunchtime the entire store was sold out.
I get a little awkward around all this. I am adept when consoling families. But how do you deal with the office receptionist who says she would have stayed home if she’d known Michael was dead? What do you say to the friend wearing a single glove?
Is “Beat It” too blunt?
June 23, 2009 at 9:47 am · Filed under Issues Management, Globalisation
The Twitter-verse is alive with postings from Iran. With global news agencies blocked from Tehran the world’s exposure to post-election chaos is delivered via Twitter and YouTube. These seem to be the only sites able to escape the tightest Internet filtering system in the world - built by Siemens and Nokia.
If ever there was a public relations nightmare for a company this has to be the daddy of them all.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Iran’s monitoring system is the most sophisticated in the world. It even exceeds the capabilities in China. And it was provided, in part, by European companies Siemens and Nokia:
“The monitoring capability was provided, at least in part, by a joint venture of Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, and NokiaCorp., the Finnish cellphone company, in the second half of 2008, Ben Roome, a spokesman for the joint venture, confirmed.” (Source: The Wall Street Journal)
To be fair the equipment and technology was developed to improve mobile telephone technology in a developing nation. Yet the sophistication of the filtering and blocking system exceeds that of any country in the world. Surely it would have been apparent, at installation, the capabilities could be used for political oppression especially as Iran remains an autocratic state.
I, for one, will be monitoring the response of Siemens and Nokia to these developments.
June 10, 2009 at 8:55 am · Filed under Public Relations, Australia
Australian slang could be studied at a doctoral level and still you’d be finding new phrases. It’s a social leveler unknown in America. George Bush tried to speak like a common man - most days he came across as inarticulate. Here in Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd peppers his comments with common man language. Yet as an erudite man it comes across as studied and slightly false.
“Fair shake of the sauce bottle, mate,” said Rudd yesterday when defending postings in a Ministerial shake-up. Critics say not enough women got postings. Kevin defends the roles and winners by comparing it to a barbecue sauce bottle.
“If you were to compare what this Government has done in terms of promotion of women of talent and ability compared with our predecessors, it’s chalk and cheese,” he continued. Once again the colloquial language comes out.
For communicators this is done in an effort to boost understanding and retention - right away every listener gets a mental image that is emblazoned in their mind.
How does Rudd’s Government compare to Howard’s? Chalk and cheese.
June 5, 2009 at 9:12 am · Filed under America, Globalisation
“I have come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the US and Muslims around the world.”
President Barak Hussein Obama in speech at Cairo University - June 2009
Yesterday in Cairo USA President Barack Hussein Obama gave a speech that redefines relations with the Muslim world. Carefully crafted over months - and with input from prominent US Muslims - the speech included a few historic firsts. It was the first time a US President mentioned the state of Palestine. He decried Israeli settlements and called for an end to construction. He reversed US policy developed under Bush that led to resentment and anger: “The cycle of suspicion and discord must end,” he said.
And in his speech Obama became the first US President to quote the Koran, then issued a greeting of peace: “As-salaam alaikum” (peace be with you). And while his speech was important for its location - Egypt is an important US ally - he rightly noted that there is a mosque in every state of the USA.
The speech was broadcast live across the Middle East on television, Internet and covered in numerous social media forums. Obama’s audience includes the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims, leaders of the Arab states, Israeli leaders and people and of course citizens of the United States.
Throughout his campaign Obama was praised for his loquaciousness. He’s a natural orator comfortable behind the lectern. Yet this speech blended brilliant phrases with far-reaching policy. It is a speech that will be studied for years to come.
And of course the critics will be dissecting every word and each nuance of delivery. Closer to the scene locals in Cairo already complained of the street closures and security precautions. One newspaper headline read, “Cairo Closed.”
June 3, 2009 at 3:44 pm · Filed under Globalisation, Australia
Remember Keanu Reeves in “The Matrix” and those great scenes where he dodged bullets? If I were any good on Adobe Photoshop I’d touch up this photo and put Kevin Rudd’s photo on the face of Keanu. Today Australia dodged a bigger, nastier bullet - recession.
Based on the volume of exports, Australia avoided recession. I know, I know - that’s unbelievable. In today’s global meltdown for Australia NOT to be in recession is a miracle.
But before we all race along George Street planting “High Fives” on fellow Australians, let’s pause and consider. Unemployment is up. Stores are shuttered. Confidence is shaky.
There used to be a non-alcoholic whisky called Claytons (”The drink you have when you’re not having a drink”). This may not be a recession in pure technical terms - but it’s a Claytons recession.
June 1, 2009 at 9:44 am · Filed under America, Australia
It’s definitely a Monday. Weekend gone - week of work stretches ahead. And what a week it will be.
Today in America, General Motors is expected to declare bankruptcy. It will be the largest ever. And while government and insiders may wish for a “surgical” effort and a quck recovery, a reorganisation on this scale will take months - if not years.
Closer to home Australia is expected to declare recession on Wednesday. For those living through job losses and declining confidence it seems a no-brainer. However a recession is technically declared when two quarters of declining economic activity. The last quarter of 2008 saw a 0.5% contraction - forecasters predict the first quarter of 2009 saw shrinkage between 02. and 0.4%.
For those unfamiliar with an Australian custom, on the first day of the month (prior to 12:00 noon) you’re to rush up to people and provide a pinch then a punch while saying, “A pinch and a punch for the first of the month.” Given the economic news this week perhaps it’s a pinch to ensure they’re awake then a punch to stop them screaming.
May 28, 2009 at 3:14 pm · Filed under Australia
Winter is a tough time to attract tourists to Australia. We’re in the depths of bitter cold. Why today the high is only 17 degrees celsius. For Americans, that’s a mind-numbing 63 degrees fahrenheit. Clearly something needed to be done.
Attracting winter time tourists is an art in itself. Sydney doens’t reach the cold depths that would allow an ice hotel - as in Scandinavia. Instead we’ve taken the best looking city - and made it prettier.
Tuesday night was the launch of “Vivid” - a light display across Sydney linked to a series of special events. I was fortunate enough to be taking a client to dinner on launch night at Circular Quay. We saw the display of light boxes in front of Custom House - then saw the pink paisley light show on the sails of Opera House.
Take time to come into the CBD one night this week. Take a wander and see what you can see. More on the Vivid can be found on their website.
Buy dress warm…brrrrrr…..
May 28, 2009 at 8:54 am · Filed under Issues Management, Globalisation, Public Relations
“Could I try the heart?” asked Canada’s Governor General, Michaelle Jean as she leaned over a dead seal. She was showing her support for the Inuit tradition of seal hunting in the face of an EU ban on seal products. While Inuit cull small numbers of seal using traditional methods, EU members object to the larger-scale killing by commercial hunters of thousands of seal pups.
So after eating some raw seal meat the Governor General tucked into a bite of raw heart. Her verdict? It tastes “like sushi.” She encouraged all Canadians to sample raw seal.
(Side question: Is this now a national duty or merely an invitation? Are Canadians obliged to eat raw seal much like Japanese school children being served whale meat in school canteens?)
During the peak of “Mad Cow” disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) brave British politicans were photographed…enjoying a barbequed steak! Nothing could hold these brave men back as they tucked into a prized British export. (”If it’s safe enough for me…”) Eventually England killed 4.4 million head of cattle.
Now Swine Flu is in the headlines. The misnomer is leading to bans on the export of pork. And while world health authorities have changed the name to “H1N1 Virus” it lacks the same pizzaz as “Swine Flu” especially to the readers of The Daily Telegraph.
Today’s cover features “the first family of swine flu” - now under quarantine to stop the spread of the disease (pictured below: John and Fiona Darcy with sons Jarryd and Nicholas - source: The Daily Telepgraph).
My question: Will they put some pork on their fork? Should Kevin Rudd stop by with a take-away serving of Pork Lo Mein?
May 20, 2009 at 9:16 am · Filed under America, Globalisation, Australia
Companies are shedding jobs quicker than kilos on “The Biggest Loser“. Former fatties are now “right sized” and “down sized” and better able to handle the economy. Meanwhile the “right sized” are filling unemployment lines and leading to record high unemployment in most OECD nations. (Australia, for some odd reason, is defying the trend and last month announced a decline in unemployment - Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oy! Oy! Oy!)
In the USA alone, each month a half million jobs are lost, according to The Guardian:
“The unemployment rate in the United States has hit a 26-year high after another half a million jobs were lost last month.
“The labor department said the jobless rate jumped to 8.9% in April from 8.5% the previous month, marking the highest level since September 1983. US employers cut 539,000 jobs in April, the smallest number since October.”
Source: guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 May 2009
To date the Global Financial Crisis emanated from falling residential housing prices leading to a drop in consumer confidence, leading to less spending, leading to banks writing off loans…leading to today’s catastrophic mess.
But the bad news it’s only going to get worse.
The employers that are now thinner, leaner and meaner are locked into long term rental agreements for commercial property. This means the major cities will soon have a glut on their hands. And when owners find it impossible to fil buildings - at the right price - they’ll start defaulting on commercial mortgages. Prices for commercial property are bound to fall due to a steep fall in demand. Yet due to the long-term nature of most commercial rental agreements, we’re unlikely to see the full effect for another year.
Until then demand for new commercial premises has fallen - so building has stopped.
And did we mention the banks now holding mortgages that may not be repaid? In the USA attention has been focused on the larger banks - Citibank and BankofAmerica come to mind. According to “The Wall Street Journal“ more than US$100 billion is likely to be lost across all banks in commercial property next year:
“Commercial real-estate loans could generate losses of $100 billion by the end of next year at more than 900 small and midsize U.S. banks if the economy’s woes deepen, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal.” (see full story on-line)
We’ll need new terms in a post-crisis world. Safe as banks? Nope. Good as bricks and mortar? No longer. Maybe mattress sales are on the upswing - especially as we can’t get coffee in tins any more to bury in the back yard.
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