Microsoft this month is spreading word of the release of Window’s 7 during several thousand parties hosted across the globe by employees and everyday people in their own homes. Each host receives a special Signature Edition of Windows 7 Ultimate to keep, as well as a party pack of supplies for guests.

Home parties are growing in favor, providing marketers with a far-reaching network of qualified hosts who invite family, friends and neighbors to experience brands in a personal setting, often interacting with the products the way they would on a daily basis in their own homes.

In addition to the Microsoft events, House Party, an Irvington, NY, based experiential marketing agency, has staged parties for Royal Caribbean, Fisher-Price, Sargento, Domino’s, Xbox, Ziploc, Ford, Werther’s, Turner Broadcasting and others. Parties range in size from 1,000 to 100,000, each averaging 3.5 to four hours. The average cost is between $200,000 and $250,000, but can run into the millions depending on the number of parties.

To recruit the hosts, House Party taps the brand’s consumer database, but also uses its own database of several hundred thousand potential hosts.

Kitty Kolding, the CEO of House Party, shares the five stages in planning the events.

1. PLANNING AND PREPPING (2-6 weeks)

This is the time to identify the party theme and entertainment and activities that will take place on the day of the party, such as contests or sweepstakes, product trial, demos or sampling. Items for party packs, delivered one week prior to the events, are identified and sourced. A discussion about whether a co-sponsor makes sense takes place. Success metrics and a time line for the events are developed. The event miscrosite is launched and communications are created to recruit hosts.

2. RECRUTING THE HOST (2-3 weeks)

Over the next several weeks, the client provides six- to 18- demographic and psychographic characteristics required of the host and attendees. House Party adds additional host predictors, such as the host’s “viral propensity,” or ability to drive lots of awareness about the parties. The hosts must be highly social, good at throwing parties and have a wide circle of friends and family who like to attend their parties. Once those attributes have been determined, a proprietary weighted scoring model is created by House Party to match hosts with the stated criteria. A promotional plan is developed by both House Party and the client and executed to reach out to potential hosts. Communications include, newsletters, e-mails to customer lists, direct mail, statement stuffers, in-store promotions and bloggers. The messages drive potential hosts to a landing page—live for two-to-three weeks—that describes the party and how to qualify as a host. (Potential hosts, typically tens of thousands, must complete a customized online questionnaire). A client meeting is held to identify the hosts to activate.

3. GETTING READY (3-4 weeks)

During this phase, the hosts are notified. They pick a party theme, customize their online party planning stages, invite friends, upload photos and stay looped in to the national party page. The party packs are shipped.

4. PARTY TIME

All of the parties happen on the same day or over a weekend.

5. POST EVENT (2-3 weeks)

Once the parties end, the focus turns to continuing interactions and communications with attendees to motivate post event brand awareness and trial, such as coupon redemption, a visit to a Web site to take an action, such as a test drive. A post-event survey is fielded and a word-of-mouth path is documented. Highly engaged guests are converted to viral agents for the brand. All data, photos, comments, videos and measurement materials are pulled from the events and an executive summary is written and delivered to the client three-to-four weeks after the events. A post-event meeting is held with the client.

“We connect everyday people with smart brands in an authentic, social setting that they get to self create,” Kolding says. “We inject the brand itself directly and intimately into this gathering of friends and give people four or five hours to try, experience, discuss and have fun with a brand.”

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After embarking on a campaign to promote your brand with word-of-mouth its is now time to present your report to company management. But how will your group communicate WOM results to show the real value? How do you define success with WOM, both online and offline?
Word of Mouth Marketing Association spokesperson John Moore said marketers shouldn’t try to track dollars in, dollars out when measuring the success of a WOM program.

“Studies show that 76% of consumers don’t believe the advertising they see, while 80% say they trust recommendations from people like themselves,” he said. “You don’t want to compare WOM with advertising, for example, because what you achieve with each strategy is different. With online and offline word-of-mouth marketing, success occurs when conversations are generated about your brand and companies learn from consumers freely sharing their experiences.”

Businesses interested in WOM to increase brand awareness must first overcome any fears they have about surrendering one-way communication control associated with advertising or other non-interactive tactics.

“One piece of advice is be confident about your products and services because low confidence usually means a business won’t be comfortable with what consumers might say in conversations,” Moore said.

To assure success with a WOM program a company’s culture must willingly accept criticism and appreciate that listening to what consumers say can help the company respond better to consumer preferences and needs and stay competitive. There are reasons why consumers buy your brand. So if they are smart enough to choose it over others, isn’t their wisdom valuable for mining ideas for new products as well? Also, should negative comments arise in conversations, management can take responsive action to address consumer concerns.

Success with WOM, therefore, is measured by the conversation levels it generates, proving that the company and its brands are relevant and top-of-mind with consumers. One company that has achieved excellent success in stimulating ongoing conversation and engagement is Fiskars Brands, the firm best known as the maker of those orange-handle scissors we all have tucked in a drawer somewhere at home.

Fiskars started its WOM initiatives in 2006 and has achieved almost transformational success in building strong and supportive relationships with a devoted following of scrapbook enthusiasts. It first recrutied four part-time Fiskars “ambassadors” and brought them to its headquarters in Madison, WI, for an intense educational briefing about the company, its products and its values.

The goal was to empower the ambassadors to start blogging, attend trade shows, give scrapbooking classes at retail stores, and pursue other activities on their own to spread good will from Fiskars. They also recruited other scrapbookers, called Fiskateers, nationwide. New Fiskateers receive welcoming kits with engraved scissors, a booklet on what it means to be a Fiskateer and tips for recruiting more to their ranks. The recruiting effort has created a powerful and influential community.

Fiskateers organize local gatherings for scrapbookers called “crops” where participants talk, crop and build relationships. The events are organized online by Fiskateers but are intended to achieve face-to-face interaction. This is an excellent example of how Fiskars leverages both online and offline WOM. So far, Fiskars has enlisted more than 4,800 Fiskateers in 50 states and 47 countries compared with its original goal of 200. That’s impressive, but how did it help the brand?

As the Fiskars product development managers reviewed passionate and insightful comments from their evangelists and fans, they realized this community could be a valuable focus group. Until then, new products were conceived and developed in a vacuum. Fiskars began to survey the Fiskateers and quickly learned from the feedback that customers are a great source for product evaluations and ideas.

Engagement and conversation online and face-to-face among scrapbookers forged strong loyalty to Fiskars Brands and strengthened its connection with customers. Online chatter in which Fiskars products were called by name has increased by 600%, and visits to the Fiskars Web site and blog have topped 1 million. Offline, there are more than 1,000 Fiskateers getting paid by craft stores to teach classes using Fiskars products.

WOM changed the culture at Fiskars Brands. Cultivating a relationship with its evangelists inspired Fiskars to change its scrapbooking product development process. Clearly that success, brought about by skillful use of online and offline WOM, has favorably increased brand awareness as measured by conversation frequency and tone.

Conversation levels in which brands are mentioned favorably are a key yardstick of WOM success. WOM, therefore, builds credible brand awareness in ways advertising can’t achieve. When brands appreciate the power of consumer engagement and rely on it to help guide decision making, there’s no better testament to the value of WOM for any business organization.

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From tomorrow Facebook members in 16 countries including the UK and US will be served ads for a Starbucks (RED) charity singalong of The Beatles ‘All You Need Is Love’ when they log in.

Starbucks is undertaking the biggest global Facebook ad campaign to date to raise awareness of the project, which it says is a celebration of its partnership with (RED), the charity that fights Aids in Africa.

The campaign promotes this Monday’s global singalong, which gets underway at 1.30pm GMT on 7 December and can be seen at a dedicated website, StarbucksLoveProject.com.

Starbucks has invited a number of musicians around the world to perform the song simultaneously, which will be filmed and streamed to the website.

Following the singalong, everyone with access to the site and a video camera will have the opportunity to submit their own version of the song. For each video that is contributed to the site, Starbucks will make a contribution to the Global Fund.

From tomorrow, Facebook users in the US, UK, Canada, Turkey, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Brazil, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia will see the Starbucks ad the first five times that they log in to Facebook.

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Sports PR experts have said they believe Tiger Woods’ reputation will not be damaged in the long term following scandalous revelations about his private life being made public.
Woods has dominated the global media this week after allegations that he had been having several extra-marital affairs came to light.

Woods first hit the headlines at the weekend after a mysterious car crash. He was initially criticised for not addressing the media immediately afterwards and PR experts predicted the media would fill the information vacuum.

Woods continues to make the national papers today with the Daily Mail and The Sun both featuring articles concerning the sportsman on their front pages.

The allegations have called into question several of Woods’ brand tie-ups including his relationship with grooming brand Gillette and sports brand Nike.

However, despite the wave of negative media that has engulfed the golfing star this week, sports PR experts have been unanimous in their verdicts that Woods’ image will not be damaged in the long-term.

Braben director of sport Rachel Froggatt said: ‘I believe that over the long term, this won’t damage Woods very much. In fact, this situation shows a previously unseen human side to his character, which instantly makes him more relatable. I don’t think he will lose any sponsors of note, as he is far too valuable, but you will see them reshape the way they communicate around him.’

The Sports PR Company director, Caroline McAteer, who previously advised David Beckham following his World Cup sending off in 1998, also said: ‘Brands involved with sport want their stars to be clean cut and scandal free but the impact on the brand and on the individual will depend on how the situation is handled. Tiger Woods’ image as a “family man” may be damaged but he is still the number one golfer in the world, and fans will still travel all over the world to see him play. Brands associated with him on a sports level such as Nike will probably find that the tabloid stories make no difference to his appeal.’

Woods is the second high profile sports star who is sponsored by Gillette to hit the headlines in the past few weeks. French footballer Thierry Henry, who is also sponsored by the brand, experienced a backlash against his handball, which destroyed the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup hopes last month.

Hatch PR founder Jason Madeley said that the majority of Gillette’s target male audience would forgive and forget. ‘Beckham was the number one hate figure after his World Cup dismissal in 1998, and the brands that stuck by him have been rewarded with millions of pounds worth of exposure in the long run. Tiger Woods is one of a kind and it would be very difficult for a brand to find an alternative ambassador with not only the talent, but the global reach, crossing both international and cultural boundaries.’

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Global event management agency World Events has made a move into Asia by opening an office in Hong Kong.

The office will be headed by Rebecca Lim, who has held positions with Jack Morton and Saatchi & Saatchi.

This latest launch brings the total of World Events office openings for 2009 to three, after the agency opened bases in Germany and Switzerland earlier this year.

“This represents a real step forward for us in our development as a business,” said World Events group executive chairman Graham Keene.

“The Asian market is going to become increasingly important in the years ahead and it is vital we are able to take advantage of the growing opportunity,” he added.

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Possibly the tallest magician on the circuit, Pete Hathway has entertained the likes of Razorlight and Kiefer Sutherland, and will now be plying his brand of trickery at Chinawhite on Wednesday 9 December for Event’s festive party.

Hathway, who is rumoured to be touching 6ft 10ins in height, has also performed for the likes of Mark Ronson, Babyshambles, The Mighty Boosh, Dirty Pretty Things, Foals, The Kooks, The Last Shadow Puppets, Laura Marling, The Horrors and MGMT.

He will be joining an entertainment bill, courtesy of Sternberg Clarke, which will include talent show finalist and hula hoop performer Pippa the Ripper, along with Cash Cows, an eccentric acoustic act who are renowned for putting interesting spins on classic songs from the likes of Oasis, Bon Jovi and The Animals.

The lucky guests will also have their drinks and canapes served by semi-clad staff from Butlers in the Buff.

The guestlist at what is set to be the industry’s best festive event already includes high-profile event planners from Ford, Deloitte and The Law Society, as well as agencies including RPM, Iris Experience and Jack Morton.

Guests will also see the unveiling of the Top 20 Venues poll, a rundown of the best event spaces of the past 12 months voted for by Event readers.

As well as the entertainment, guests will be wined and dined with drinks and canapes courtesy of Chinawhite.

Tickets are selling fast but can still be purchased at £45 each or £100 for three. To book your ticket click here.

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You are a vegan and you want to throw a holiday party. Not to worry. It is possible to throw a holiday party for a large group of people without having to ignore your dietary choices. Here is how you can host a vegan holiday party without the need to ever mention that the party is completely vegan! Of course, feel free to mention that part as well!

1. Step 1

Decide the theme and tone you would like for your party. Maybe you are catering to friends who will celebrate all different holiday this winter, or perhaps you want to throw a traditional Christmas party. It’s important that you make the decisions on the size of your party, and how you’d like to present the idea. Some people may enjoy a party that’s focus is drinking and socializing, and others might want to bring in traditions of Christmas!

2. Step 2

Send out invitations. You can either choose to let everybody know that your party is vegan, or you can not let it play an important part in the way you share the festivities with others. Keep in mind, however, the danger of not sharing that plan with others. Some may bring over dishes with meat or dairy to share with others if they are not reminded of your vegetarianism in advance…or if the fact that the party is vegan isn’t stated on the invitation. Make certain to make the party seem especially inviting when including the vegan part on the invitation.

3. Step 3

Serve appetizers that are made from Tofurky or another type of vegan meat alternative. You can buy these by the slice, and cut them into small pieces. Align them on sticks for a festive party snack. You can set out vegan cheeses with crackers as an instant smash success. People will dive right in, and you may have many others buying soy cheese when they leave your party!

4. Step 4

Try to stick to eating your own dishes. Although people mean well, many do not realize the true value of a vegan diet. A well-meaning guest may include meat stock or dairy products in their holiday dishes.

5. Step 5

Serve imitation eggnog. Silk actually comes out with a product around the holidays that you can buy in the refrigeration section of most grocery stores. Other brands of soy and rice milk do this as well. Simply buy the ready-made nog, refrigerate until ready to use and serve with the alcohol of your choice. It can be served virgin-style for younger people or those who refrain from drinking.

6. Step 6

Have a vegan gift exchange. Let others know in advance that all leather and fur is unacceptable. (Say this in a sweet way, of course!) Have everybody bring one present that is acceptable for a man or a woman. Have a special assignment for children’s presents if there are going to be children at the party. You could also have everybody bring one adult present and one child present. This would insure that the kids get extra presents, and that will keep them super happy at the party. Number the presents, and hand out the gifts, making sure that nobody gets the present he brought to the party himself!

7. Step 7

Give a vegan party bag as a parting gift to all when leaving the party. Make sure it is chock full of fun and delicious items, and you may encourage others to eat a lot of vegan items in the future. By sharing your delicious options, you may be saving the lives of many animals in the future.

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Don’t burn your bridges

There are people that you are not going to like and there are companies that you won’t want to do business with. Instead of burning your bridges with these people and companies, just quietly do your business elsewhere. It does you no good to make enemies when you are in the field of public relation.

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Honestly!

If you are doing public relations you have to be honest. Your good reputation is largely going to determine the reputation of your company. Any lies, any cover ups, even any omissions of the truth will come back to haunt you. If you tend to be a bit of a liar you might fare better in creative writing than in public relations because when you are doing public relations, everything you say, write, or do is going to be scrutinized. Even one slip up can soil your reputation forever in those circles.

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Never stop learning

If you are working in public relations, you have an obligation to yourself and to your company to never stop learning. Your job is to represent your company to the world. This means that you have stay current on what the world wants and how best to communicate these things. Since communications is one of the fields that has changed more than any other in the past 10 years, you really have your job cut out for you! You not only have to learn how to use the communication equipment, you also have to learn about the changing face of the world that you are communicating with.

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Strengthen your weaknesses

Sure, you want to play to your strengths but what about the weaknesses? Weaknesses are a delicate matter, if you focus on weaknesses; you can lose confidence and worse, lose sight of what you are trying to do with your strengths. On the other hand, if you ignore your weaknesses altogether, they won’t go away and not everybody will be able to ignore them.

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Play to your strengths

Not everybody is good at everything but everybody is good at least something. Do whatever it is that you are good at. Use that your strengths when doing public relations for your company.

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Rolodex

In business, developing relationships with reporters is very important. You have to be able to get good publicity or else your business will not do very well. If you do not have good publicity then you will not have people interested in buying your products.

Without people to buy your products you will not be able to run. You would just go into a hole of debt that you could not get out of. That would stink pretty badly. That would be worse than just having a small business; your business would completely collapse.

In order to develop relationships with reporters you have to begin pitching stories to them and doing it in mature, experienced ways. You have to be able to impress them and not annoy them.

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Position Paper

A position paper is a paper that is written by a person or a business.anyone that wants to take a position on a subject. If there are any controversial issues or anything, you can write a position paper to let the public know where you stand.

People like position papers because they like to know exactly where you stand. If there is a business that they trust, they want to know if the business will stand for good values when good values come into question.

Writing position papers can earn you expert status. This is very important in businesses that want people to trust them. If you have expert status then people may start to look at you as sort of an opinion leader. They would see you as someone whose opinion they could trust and respect.

If you had expert status then people would trust you because they would know that you are someone who knows what they are talking about. It is not as if a professional golfer is trying to write a paper on trimming trees. That you could not trust. But it is as if a professional golfer were writing a paper on golfing. People would read it.

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Floor Manager – Event Operations

Unique Opportunity

Variety Galore

Location – Sydney Olympic Park

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Operations division of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW. We require an enthusiastic, motivated and experienced Floor Manager.

Working with the Event Operations team across all of Sydney Showground, you will be responsible for function rooms, contractors, event quality control and a myriad of details that contribute to a successful event. This will involve working with clients from the largest trade and public exhibitions to smaller functions. You will ensure that our clients expectations are exceeded and will act as the coordinator of all other support service departments.

You have operational experience in the venue, event or hospitality industries. You are ready to make the move to a venue of our size, scope and diversity, where you can apply your experience and knowledge.

Commitment to ensure a safe and healthy workplace, protection of the environment and compliance with OHS and Environmental Legislation is expected. An eye for detail and tertiary qualifications in this or related industry will be viewed favorably.

Running events over 7 days and nights means that regular evening and weekend work is a necessary part of the deal. This full time role is located at Sydney Showground at Sydney Olympic Park.

If you are ready to step up to massive events at a major venue – APPLY TODAY.

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Event Services Executive – Magical Island Paradise

5 Star Whitsunday Island

Great Salary package inc accom

Get out of the city and live on an amazing island

Sweet dreams are made of this…Living and working on a 5* Island Organising Events and Special Occasions

Does the idea of organising beautiful events on a magical island every day sound like your dream job? Do you enjoy using your excellent organisational skills and eye for detail to plan the perfect event for your great clients?

Our client, 5 star multi award winning resort is looking to appoint their newest Event Services Executive. In this great role you will organise the most important days of their bride and grooms lives, coordinate conferences and incentive groups. To be considered for this role it is essential that you have previous experience in organising events within a 5* environment, be committed to providing exceptional customer service, posses strong attention to detail coupled with high administration skills, time management skills and organisational skill with previous 4-5* hotel or resort environment is essential.

Are you ready to live the island life and make dreams come true apply now to apply@aaappointments.com.au

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Festival, Events & Conference Coordinator

Echuca Moama Events is a newly formed entity created for the purpose of promoting existing events and festivals. To identify and drive new opportunities inclusive of conference and wedding business to the region. This is a unique and exciting opportunity to be part of this innovative new venture.

Echuca Moama Events works closely in partnership with Echuca Moama & District Tourism.

Being a twin border city allows us the advantage of also partnering with Tourism Victoria and Tourism New South Wales. The region is one of Victoria’s premier tourism and event destinations located 205kms from Melbourne.

We are seeking to attract a candidate that has a can do attitude, enjoys a challenge and has experience and contacts within the conference and events industry.

The successful applicant will work with key stakeholders to effectively and actively market, promote, encourage and facilitate the commercial opportunities and event management.

All applicants must meet and respond to the key selection criteria stated with the PD.

Applications will be received up until Wednesday 2nd December 2009.

For a copy of the position description please contact Belinda Henson,

By email belinda@echucamoama.com

or phone on 03 5480 7555. Or download it from the website www.echucamoama.com.

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Executive Event Manager needed

Top End white collar show.

Award winning culture, team, individuals

$80k base start – open to experience.

Im a believer! are you?

Why do i ask? Because for me, when i recruit people in the exhibitions industry, i look for passion & energy & enthusiasm. And that’s exactly what i expect from the client side as well. And i found it in spades with these guys.

So with this role and this company, I truly believe that of all the industry players out there, my client is number one. Number 1 in creativity, in professionalism, in staff progression and career nurturing (have won awards) and in entrepreneurial focus. I just believe, without doubt, they are the future of this industry. And you could be the missing piece to the puzzle!

With over 25 years Events / Exhibitions experience, my client is at the forefront of Industry driven trade shows. They are highly regarded, progressive, dynamic leaders and their shows reflect the professional nature of their business, as well as the sectors they service. Industry testimonials are too numerous to mention. A clear market leader. No one comes close. Why would you not want to get with the best at the beginning of a planned 5 year growth curve. Most people in this company are award winning professionals, and they are heading places!

In a nutshell, there are certain things we are looking for:

1. Proven Event Management ability. This can be Agency driven, B2B trade or consumer show, Live Events, media or advertising – MUST BE A SUCCESSFUL OPERATOR, WITH PROVEN RESULTS!

2. A real passion for what you do – are you a real believer in your ability and that of your team? are you dedicated to your particular exhibition. Willing to go that extra mile?

3. Honest, stable, reliable, with creative flair, entrepreneurial ability, dynamism and a positive attitude.

That’s all i can say right now. Remember this is an award winning culture (how does BRW best places to work for sound?) and career planning is one of their true passions for their staff.

Salary is open, we start at about $75k and work up. Super, commissions, bonus and others extras – well you just have to call or apply to find out!

go on, lets get started. January could be the beginning of something HUGE!

Please apply below, or call Andy Sauer on 02 8243 1963 for a confidential discussion.

To be eligible to apply for this position you must have an appropriate Australian or New Zealand work visa.

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Community Campaigner – QLD and Northern NSW

Are you highly energetic and passionate about making a difference?

Do you have a flare for organising and motivating people?

Full time contract role from February to 10 September 2010

Amnesty International Australia is one of Australia’s largest not for profit organisations and is part of the global movement defending human rights and dignity. We work with people in Australia and our region to demand respect for human rights and protect people facing abuse. To do this, we mobilise people, campaign, conduct research and raise money for our work. We are promoting a culture where human rights are embraced, valued and protected.

Due to internal movement an exciting contract opportunity has arisen for a dynamic and enthusiastic individual to join the Community Campaigns Team as Community Campaigner for Queensland and Northern NSW. This full time contract is available from February through to 10 September 2010, and will be based in our Queensland Action Centre.

The Community Campaigns Team implements Amnesty’s campaigns at the regional level through mobilising and supporting our supporters.

You will work with supporters, engaging and mobilising their efforts within your region. This means that your community organising, event management, project management, logistics and communication skills will be second to none.

You will play an integral role in identifying campaigning opportunities, developing campaigning strategy and seeing campaigns through from start to finish. This role is vital in building and strengthening support for Amnesty’s campaigns in Australian communities.

You will have:

· Demonstrated experience in social change campaigning practice and methods.

· Demonstrated high level of oral and written communication skills.

· Experience in community organisations, including supporting activists and working with volunteers.

· Ability to critically analyse and articulate complex issues in a fast paced environment.

· Demonstrated ability to manage multiple and varied activities involving a diverse range of people.

· Solid project management experience.

· Effective interpersonal skills, and ability to work as part of a team and across the organisation to achieve strategic organisational priorities.

· Solid understanding of global and local human rights issues.

In return, you will be rewarded with flexible working conditions, a fantastic and supportive office environment, and the knowledge that you will be working for an organisation committed to making a difference. You will be working alongside committed and dedicated individuals and will be given an opportunity to learn new skills and contribute to Human Rights movement directly.

If you would like to be part of Amnesty International Australia’s valued staff and be remunerated with a base salary of $56,933 p.a. (which equates to a Commercial Equivalent Salary Package of $68,678 p.a. if you chose to take up salary packaging benefits), please send your resume and application letter responding to the selection criteria to employment@amnesty.org.au by 5pm Friday, 11 December 2009.

For a detailed position description containing the selection criteria for this role, please visit http://www.amnesty.org.au/jobs

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