MAGENTA: Teamwork On Set

Towards the end of my professional placement at Magenta I was given the opportunity to work on a photo shoot for one of Magenta’s key national clients.  I was extremely excited to get some hands–on experience outside of the office environment and to witness the interaction with the client directly.

The photo shoot was for the client’s Christmas gift guide and took place in a beautiful display home in one of Perth’s most prestigious suburbs.  The team on set consisted of two client representatives, an account co-ordinator from the Magenta PR team, a professional Photographer and myself.  I was able to assist in preparing merchandise for each shot as well as learning effective ways to display products for promotion.  I found it extremely interesting to see the ways in which the Magenta team member interacted with the client representatives in order to achieve the desired end result. 

The function of a PR agency is to deliver effective communications solutions for a client.  Magenta collaborates with clients to deliver creative solutions that meet business objectives. It is always interesting to see how people with artistic temperaments interact with one another.  A Magenta creative, a photographer, and two client representatives working together on set can have contrasting ideas about how they perceive the best way to meet the project objectives.

As a PR agency, the Magenta team is in a position where they must exercise quality control of ideas put forward against their knowledge of Public Relations and the industry. In this way, they can give the client the benefit of the wealth of their experience in the PR Marketing industry. It is a delicate balancing act to guide the client towards a collaboration of not only their ideas but those of the agency’s as well.

For example, half way through the day an additional client representative joined the shoot and presented an idea that unfortunately clashed with the overall design aesthetic of the current shot.  The client representative was a relatively senior member of their company and was determined to proceed with the idea.  The Magenta creative strategically negotiated with the client representative and was able to come to a creative compromise by incorporating the idea into another part of the shoot. 

I was very impressed to see how harmoniously the people on set worked together as a cohesive team.  I also saw the importance of collaborating ideas on set to showcase the objectives of the both the client and the PR agency.

Working on the photo shoot was a wonderful experience where I was able to learn a great deal about teamwork and cooperation in a real world situation.

Jacinta McDonald.

#13958888

New Digital Emphasis - MAGENTA DIGITAL

Half way through my Public Relations professional practice I was excited to learn that a new service was about to be launched at Magenta that would really push the boundaries of the Public Relations Industry in Australia.  I discovered that the new service had been a year in the planning and would be named Magenta Digital.  Magenta would appoint eight new staff members in an attempt to respond to changing client and market demands. 

Magenta Digital would provide their clients with unique digital services such as:

• Social Media Evaluation
• Analysis and Community Engagement
• Blog Building
• Content Development
• Online Strategy
• Social Media Training
• Policy Development
• Video Content Creation and Distribution

I was lucky enough to meet Launchpad Creative Founder, Jeremy Stewart, at Magenta.  Mr Stewart would lead the Magenta Digital team which would be comprised of a four member digital team, two communication / online editors, a creative manager and a Melbourne-based account manager.  The eight new members would work together solely in the digital space to revolutionise the online presence of clients.

The decision to include the online services at Magenta was greatly influenced by international trends indicating a solid opportunity in this area.  Magenta Digital would aim to educate clients about the importance of taking ownership of their digital presence. The service would go a lot further than maintaining online advertising and websites. They plan to develop new digital strategies to keep clients in front of their customers. 

With the addition of the new digital service, Magenta would have the ability to augment and evolve their existing brand-building and public relations services to ensure that their clients were taking advantage of a new media landscape.  Magenta Digital would focus on real-time communication and conversation to engage consumers with the brand to drive sales. 

With a 20-year digital industry veteran at the helm coupled with the creative talents of Director Melissa Lekias, and the Magenta Team, Magenta Digital is set to create a new benchmark in online public relations.  

Jacinta McDonald #13958888

ONLINE TROLLS – How to deal with negative feedback?

“Your reputation is important. Today’s organizations and individuals are at the mercy of the 24/7 internet media. Unflattering news, reviews, pictures, and even outright lies can be posted instantaneously and spread throughout the online world swiftly.” (Digital Firefly Marketing, 2013)

 

One of the main roles of Public Relations is to foster a positive perception of a company or brand.  With the ever-increasing number of on-line forums and platforms for people to express their opinions freely, there is always the added complication of negative feedback.
 

As the world moves ever forward towards a digitally savvy society, negative feedback and harsh criticism online can be quite damaging for a brand. Reputations can be destroyed overnight! Information online can live forever and is accessible to everyone. But not matter how hard you try, there is no way you can please everyone. Whether negative feedback is warranted or not, it must be addressed. Once something is published online it is open to the world to view and further comment on.

Here are some helpful tips when responding to negative feedback online:

• Monitor continually your brand’s online reputation – consumers may disregard your products based on reviews and comments found online

• Don’t escalate the situation - avoid adding fuel to the fire by steering clear of inflammatory comments

• Remain professional and have a calm approach

• Address the situation – protect your reputation

• Respond quickly and factually

• Remember the information you post is accessible to anyone

• Reinforce the values of the brand in your response

• Turn the negative into a positive brand opportunity – Rise above it!

• Move onto the next thing – change the topic by creating content to draw the attention away from the negative comments and guide the audience in a more positive direction

To delete or not to delete? Everyone is entitled to their opinion and even though deleting the post may seem like the best way to protect your brand – it is important to act with transparency and remain open to all feedback.  Criticism is also a great way to gauge the consumers’ perception. It can be an opportunity to discover ways to adapt a product in order to cater to consumer needs more effectively. It can even be a chance to ask for suggestions on how elements could be improved. Resist the urge to engage in a social media slinging-match it will only generate more negative exposure.  Of course there are exceptions to this rule, such as, when negative feedback includes discriminatory or highly offensive content.  In this instance, it may be best to delete the harmful content but then to provide an explanation for the removal.
 

I found that the professional placement experience was an excellent opportunity to witness Public Relations techniques put into practice in “real-world” situations. To illustrate the above points I want to relate an experience that I had during my professional placement at Magenta. Magenta has established a leadership position in retail marketing with a focus on lifestyle and represents leading Australian and International brands. This includes Magenta managing the social media elements of particular clients.  One day at Magenta I was notified that a client’s brand had received negative feedback online.  The negative content related to the design aesthetic of the client’s product and was posted as a comment on a Facebook photo.  Although the negative comment was a relatively minor one, I learned some very important lessons when dealing with online criticism.
 

In my case at Magenta, the negative comment on Facebook was effectively defused by using a variety of the media monitoring strategies mentioned above.  As a result of excellent social media monitoring the Magenta team were able to react extremely quickly.  The negative comment on the Facebook photo was located and replied to within the hour.  The reply was constructed using a calm and professional approach and acknowledged the opinions of the Facebook user in a positive light.  The response then went on to remind the Facebook user that for every product purchase a portion of each sale was donated to a specific conservationist charity.  This information was included to reinforce the values of the client’s brand.  Presenting these facts could also encourage other Facebook users to continue to support the brand knowing that funds from every purchase would be contributing to a worthwhile cause. After the comment reply was completed another constructive tactic was implemented. New positive content was posted above in order to move the damaging comments further down the page.  I thought this was a very clever strategy and a great way to shift to a positive focus.
 

So remember these handy hints and send those Trolls packing!

Jacinta McDonald #13958888 

Digital Firefly Marketing. (2013). Reputation Management Services. Retrieved from https://digitalfireflymarketing.com/reputation-management-services