The Green Network

On the 21st of May Liberty hosted its third Green Network Luncheon at the Hilton Hotel. The Green Network is a Liberty Resources initiative, bringing together a community of individuals and corporate organisations who are committed to working towards a more environmentally sustainable future.

Liberty initiated this quarterly event in 2009 to differentiate the Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) industry from traditional coal mining. UCG provides inherent environmental benefits as it eliminates the need to ‘mine’ the coal.

For this event we launched a rebranding that had been done pro bono by the designers that we use for Liberty. I’ve inserted the old logo and the new logo so you can see the difference.

My initial reaction of the new logo was that it was too harsh, but once I heard the justification it grew on me. Knowing what the logo stands for, and knowing that our target audience will be able to relate to it, makes a big difference.

The key promotional tool for the Green Network is social media, primarily LinkedIn and Twitter. Both myself and my colleague, Alex, have well established networks on Twitter and LinkedIn. Alongside some advertising in WA Business News (through a sponsorship arrangement) and some positive word of mouth thanks to very successful previous events we managed to sell 60 tickets to the May event. Our goal was 50, it was an overwhelming feeling to reach 60!

Here are the invites that were sent out for the event;

All of the promotional material used for the Green Network event had an organic theme which was chosen to appeal to the target demographic.

The Green Network is more than just an excuse to get together for lunch and Liberty work hard to make the event environmentally friendly. For the May lunch we launched the Green Network Tree Plantation with 100 trees planted by our major sponsor to carbon offset the event. We also arranged an environmentally friendly menu using locally sourced produce, and details of the menu were printed on seed paper which guests could take home and plant! Guests also took home a goodie bag full of environmentally friendly products, including hemp socks and eco-pens that were donated by our sponsors.

Liberty relies heavily on sponsors to donate products and services, and we were lucky enough to have a local photographer donate him time to take professional photos at the event. Using the photos we created this YouTube clip:

I remember having a very heated debate in PR Corporate last semester about whether BP’s corporate rebranding in 2002 was in fact green washing. Particularly in regards to the sale of toy stuffed animals at BP petrol stations to raise money for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Is it responsible of BP to partner with the NWF to increase awareness of endangered animals?

There is a risk that Liberty could become victim to the same debate. It is important that the company established a clear mission and vision for the initiative so that it can be easily justified. I think that when people understand the difference between the energy production that Liberty is involved in, compared to traditional mining they accept the company as the founder of the initiative.

I believe the initiative will be long-lived!

Interview Preparation

I'm completing my placement at Liberty Resources, and our spokesperon is the Managing Director, Andrew. He has a strong, credible reputation within the finance and investment industry and is the most appropriate spokesperson for most interviews.

The first time I secured an interview for Andrew with a journalist I was over the moon! However, I’ve learnt that just securing an interview is not enough to ensure positive media coverage. I thought that I would share the process that I developed to implement after securing an interview.

1. Confirm the interview date and time
2. Ask the journalist to send through a list of proposed questions
3. Determine a list of key messages that need to be communicated in the interview
4. Develop a brief analysis of the listener/reader demographic
5. Research the journalist
6. Write proposed answers to the interview questions (for this I just used dot points under each question as it was easier for the MD to read)
7. Take research findings and proposed answers to the MD and brief on the interview

Where possible I always ask the journalist to send me a copy of the article before it goes to print or is streamed online (this is not always possible – but always worth asking!)

This task always reminds me of the mock interviews that we did in PR Media! Knowing that I had completed this excerise (even though it was over 2 years ago now) gave me the confidence to sucessfully implement this interview process.

It’s all about having as much control over the message as you can. While you want your spokesperson to sound natural in conversation with the journalist, it's also very important that they are saying the right thing!

Liberty was invited to present at a Sydney Resources Roadshow conference in April. While we were there we arranged a video interview with ABN Newswire. This is the first video interview I’d prepared for and let me tell you it is a lot more challenging than an interview over the phone. Firstly, Liberty’s MD could not read from my interview preparation notes so I spent 15 minutes before the interview going over it with him.

Let me know what you think...

It is just as important after the interview to review it. I always found it difficult to sit down with Andrew to listen to the interview and evaluate it because he didn't like listening to himself. But it is so important, as with any project, to enage in ongoing evalutation to ensure to the next interview is perfect!

Company ASX Announcements

The company I work for, Liberty Resources Limited, is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and a major part of my role is to coordinate company announcements. This was primarily to ensure that the announcements clearly communicate the company’s key messages and that the technical information was presented in a way that the ‘every-day investor’ could understand.

Writing an ASX announcement is very different to a media release. All statements that Liberty makes in an ASX announcement, particularly if when referring to the value of the coal resource, must comply with a JORC (Joint Ore Reserves Committee) reporting code. There are three key principles governing the operation and application of the JORC Code 1

1. Transparency: The information in the announcement must be clear and not misleading
2. Materiality: Requires the information to be relevant so that investors can judge the value of the resources
3. Competence: The statement must be based on work that is suitably qualified by a ‘competent person’ who is subject to an enforceable professional code of ethics.

There are so many elements to coordinate when preparing an announcement. The process involves at least five people at Liberty that need to review the announcement for a particular reason. I took on the role of managing this process to ensure it was efficient as possible. For this I developed a step by step process so that everyone was fully aware of their role and how it fit with the overall procedure.

I also implemented an ASX preparation document to be completed when the announcement is initiated. This document includes the date of initiation, anticipated release date, and a list of key messages and stakeholders. This document was very effective in ensuring simple management of the process.

As my last day at Liberty is this Friday, I handed this management task to Liberty’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). I’m handing most of my tasks to the Communications Officer, however this procedure is so important and requires someone who has extensive experience with ASX announcements and corporate compliance.

I’ve found that ASX-listed companies work very differently to a privately-owned one. Everything that you do has to be in the best interest of the company’s shareholders. ASX announcements are a key part of communication with potential and existing shareholders.

Click here to read the latest ASX Announcement that I prepared for Liberty. I would be interested to hear other students’ views on the difference between an ASX announcement and a media release.

Reference: 1 (2004) Appendix 5A. Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (The JORC Code) ww.asx.com.au/ListingRules/appendices/App5a.doc

But I don't have time to manage my time?!

What happens to the student/career woman who is so passionate about the company she works for that nothing (I mean nothing) takes priority? Well it turns out no matter how much you love your job, when it starts affecting you in ways you couldn’t imagine, it’s time to take a step back and consider the options.

Let me explain the situation…

I started working with Liberty Resources back in November 2008. Liberty is an ASX-listed energy company focused on the commercial deployment of clean energy projects world-wide. It’s an emerging industry that has attracted a flurry of attention, particularly in Queensland, in the last 12 months. The projects will utilise proven technology that will revolutionise the production of energy. We developed an animation that explains the process and the opportunity that you can view here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=678wRieNyG0

In June 2009, and I was promoted from an administration position to Corporate Communications Manager – managing everything from investor relations material, to the website to our community consultation program. It was my dream job, and the opportunity came so much sooner than I had anticipated!

So I decided to complete my PR 393 unit at Liberty. The biggest lesson I’ve learnt while completing this unit is that juggling work and study is not always the best option.

I have found that working full time in a communications role has been incredibly valuable as I can implement the skills that I learn in lectures and tutorials into practice…sometimes on the same day! I’ve also found that studying as you work keeps your mind active and you’re always up to date with the latest PR case studies.

However, over the past couple of months I’ve found that juggling a job with study is very difficult to effectively time manage. How do you prioritise your assignment when there’s a meeting with Richard Branson to prepare for? (Seriously)

I’m actually leaving Liberty at the end of next week to move to Karratha. Partly because my partner moved there four months ago, and partly because I’ve recognised the need to slow down and assess where I’m going. My next three blogs will be about the handover I’m doing with my colleague Alex.

I’ve grown so much since starting with Liberty almost two years ago. However, the most important lesson I’m taking away from my time at Liberty is that sometimes you need to make a decision that is in your best interest. There will always be another job, another opportunity. If you’re passionate about what you do and you’re eager to learn, these opportunities are more likely to present themselves.

I’m sure there are many students, especially being in the final year of study, who find themselves in the same position. To you, I say this – you and the people around you are more important than any job.

Bec