Business News

Mon Mar 25

Why you should consider ditching your PR agency and doing it yourself

Written by Jules Brooke

A new online platform is making running your own PR campaigns easy for small business owners and entrepreneurs – and it’s much more affordable than engaging a high-priced PR agency.

The right media coverage can be priceless, but there’s certainly a hefty price tag to pay if you’re thinking about engaging a PR agency. Depending on the PR services you require, expect to pay between $100 and $300 per hour – and putting a PR agency on a retainer will likely run you tens of thousands of dollars per year.

That’s a steep bill to pay, especially if you’re running a small business or startup on a shoestring budget, or are a lone entrepreneur, consultant or author trying to build your customer base without taking out a second mortgage on your home.

Fortunately, an online PR platform for small business owners, startups and entrepreneurs is disrupting its high-priced agency competitors. Handle Your Own PR offers small and medium business an online PR platform you can use to identify relevant media outlets and build your own media contact list, craft engaging media releases, distribute them to the right journalists, and manage the follow-up process.

“PR really doesn’t need to cost the earth,” says Jules Brooke, founder and director of Handle Your Own PR. “It really lends itself to a do-it-yourself approach. Not only is it much cheaper than employing your own PR staff or engaging an agency, but journalists and producers appreciate dealing directly with the business owner without having to go through a PR rep.”

Brooke also provides PR training via her PR Accelerator, Bootcamp and Journo HYPR Link courses that aim to get business owners, entrepreneurs, speakers, consultants and authors up to speed on the wonderful world of PR.

Here are her top three tips for PR beginners:

1. Know your message

“You need to have something interesting to say,” says Brooke. “Think about the value you can offer journalists. Start by identifying the industry insights, expert commentary or interesting research you can share with the media. You need to develop a unique perspective on a set of well-defined topics so journalists know when to call on you for comment.”

2. Establish a strong angle

“Once you’ve identified your talking points, it will be much easier to establish a strong angle in your media releases,” advises Brooke. “An effective media release isn’t just an advertisement for your product or service. Rather, it should present an angle that a journalist or producer can use to build a story around. Stick to one clear angle per media release, clearly communicate it in the headline and first couple of sentences, then provide supporting quotes so the journalist can get a sense of what you can offer in an interview.”

3. Manage the follow up

“Busy journalists and producers can receive hundreds of media releases every day, so you can’t just send a lone release and expect lightning to strike,” says Brooke. “You need to follow up after sending a release, but its a fine line between being helpful and becoming annoying. Our online platform will help you manage this process so you get the timing right without wasting a bunch of your own time.

“If you have the right guidance, running your own PR campaigns is completely achievable – even for beginners.”

To try handling your own PR or to find out about the coaching options available, go to www.handleyourownpr.com.au

Mon Mar 25

Hideaways Bins

Written by Media Release

Small New Zealand company with big Australian presence wins international design award…for a rubbish idea

How often do you think about the humble rubbish bin in your kitchen? For one family-run Kiwi company, that’s been a seven-year endeavour – and their rubbish idea has just paid off big-time.

Hideaways Bins, which are distributed nationwide in Australia, was today announced as the winner of a prestigious international Red Dot design award for its innovative kitchen bin design. Their winning product, called Concelo, is a kitchen waste bin designed to overcome common issues – including grime and odours - associated with the most-used but least-thought-about kitchen appliance.

The New Zealand-designed and manufactured Concelo bin was one of more than 6,300 entries submitted from 59 countries for the highly-regarded international design competition based in Essen, Germany. Entries are judged by an international jury panel of 40 experts who only award the sought-after Red Dot seal of quality to products that feature an outstanding design. Past jurors include noted shoe designer Jimmy Choo.

The Auckland-based Hideaway Bins, run by daughter and father team Jamie and Allen Bertelsen, won a coveted Red Dot Award in the Product Design category for household appliances and household accessories.

The recognition for Hideaway Bins puts it in good company - other notable winners include Apple, Bulgari, Porsche, Volkswagen, Montblanc, Sony and 3M.

Jamie says the goal was to design the best bin possible for the home owner. “It took seven years of research, development and testing but the result is a paradigm shift for a kitchen appliance that is used 20 to 30 times a day on average.”

The company’s investment in R&D has been a crucial part of their success. “We couldn’t have made this fabulous design without the hard work and commitment of our small R&D team. We also used a small focus group of cabinet makers and kitchen designers who gave their time to provide feedback on our early designs. Dad and I accept this award on behalf of our hardworking team and all the people who gave their time to help us turn this idea into a reality. We believe Concelo will ultimately change the way the kitchen design industry will look at rubbish management in the kitchen - a bucket in a drawer will no longer be good enough, as home owners are far more aware of the need to deal with waste in a smart way,” she says.

Concelo is an integrated kitchen waste solution for rubbish and recycling that is clean in both its design and functionality. It exceeds the basic requirements of looking and running like a kitchen drawer, by considering the homeowner’s needs and requirements. Above all, Concelo overcomes two common issues of waste bins –- grime and odours.

A key feature of the bin’s award-winning design is its self-closing Active Lid, which is hidden from sight inside the cabinet, helping to control odours. The lid is a game-changer as it is now a true hands-free operation meaning the lid is synchronised with the opening and closing of the bin. The lid is cleverly designed and can be removed simply for cleaning with the push of a button!

The clever Clip ’n’ Clean trays, buckets and liner holders are made from stain-resistant polypropylene. They can be removed effortlessly for cleaning and clip back into position in seconds, eliminating potential dirt traps in difficult spaces.

Concelo boasts specially-designed and customised smooth over-extension synchronised runners. Concelo is the first premium waste bin that integrates concealed runners into its design, making it possible for the bin to be mounted at bench height for easy use for the homeowner (no more bending inside cupboards), whilst allowing the back bucket to be removed independent of the front bucket.

The Red Dot Award ceremony takes place in July this year at the Essen opera house in front of 1,200 international guests. Winning Red Dot award products will be displayed in the Red Dot museum in Essen for one year.