IABC Updates

Upcoming news and events from IABC Wellington

• Reminder: Lorri Lennon master class - earlybird registration closes soon!
• Be Heard networking event 21 September: persuasion, influence and new mobile technology
• November Be Heard: measurement case studies wanted
• IABC Christmas function: mark the calendar
• September membership month: join now and save $$
• Become accredited with IABC
• Members’ survey results: more lunchtime events please! Intro here

Reminder: Lorri Lennon master class – earlybird registration closes soon!

Time is running out to save $100 on registration for IABC Wellington’s premier professional development event for 2009, our master class with senior international business communications strategist Lorri Lennon.

Lorri was a founder of Business Interconnexions, a Sydney based consultancy, and has 22 years experience as a trusted communications advisor to organisations in Australia, South Africa and the Middle East. She has won IABC Gold Quill awards in three consecutive years, and is listed in IABC’s international speakers bureau as an Accredited Business Communicator.

The full – day master class will deliver a seven-step methodology for developing a communications strategy that produces measurable results.

Date: Friday 9 October, 9 am-5 pm
Venue: Crossways Community Trust, 9 Roxburgh St Mt Victoria
Includes: morning tea, lunch, drinks and nibbles by La Bella Italia!
Prices:
Earlybird – members $399, non-members $499 – closes 14 September
Standard – members $499, non-members $599 – closes 2 October

Click here for more information and to register.
 

Be Heard networking event 21 September: persuasion, influence and new mobile technology

New mobile technology allows people to be completely connected with all their contacts and information sources without sitting at a computer all day. New smart phones and netbooks are taking off in popularity, websites are optimised for mobile devices and Twitter groups are bypassing website communications entirely.

Where does all this leave communications managers when they're asked to advise the boss on how to adapt to this changing communications environment? How can we measure the progress of our efforts in the mobile environment?

Stuart Wilson from Modica understands what's possible with mobile technology. He will introduce the topic and provide some interesting case studies on this powerful new technology.

Date: Monday 21 September, 12.30-1.30 pm
Venue: Department of Internal Affairs, State Insurance Building, Level one, 46 Waring Taylor Street
Price: free to IABC members, $20 to non-members
Bring: your own lunch - we’ll supply tea and coffee.
To register click here

November Be Heard: measurement case studies wanted

Our November Be Heard event will cover the different ways organisations are measuring their communications, and we’re looking for case studies to share. Please contact iain@macleanpr.co.nz if you can help.

IABC Christmas function: mark your calendar

3 December at The Backbencher. Diary it now so you don't get double booked.

September membership month: join now and save $$

Reminding that you can save the standard membership application fee of US$40 this month if you join IABC or renew your lapsed membership. IABC members enjoy the benefits of networking connections and exposure to world-wide trends in communications best practice. For more information, check out http://www.iabc.com/memmonth.

Become accredited with IABC

Senior Wellington communicators are encouraged to look into becoming accredited with IABC. Accreditation provides international recognition for high-level communications skills and experience.

Anyone interested should check the information on the IABC Wellington website and then contact Iain MacLean at 027 420 3056 or iain@macleanpr.co.nz

Members’ survey results: more lunchtime events please!

Wellington IABC members want to be offered a greater variety of event times, especially lunchtime gatherings.

That’s the most consistent finding of our recent random telephone survey of about 20 members, representing about 20% of total membership.

Those spoken to were generally happy with the frequency, organisation and speaker quality of events on offer, but the majority expressed concern about the lack of meetings during the day. We’ve responded by making this month’s Be Heard session a lunchtime event, and we’ll try to mix up event timings more in future.

Most respondents valued the opportunity to network and gain senior-level insights into current communications issues. They felt that IABC tended to focus better than other organisations on the needs of experienced practitioners.

There was no consistent theme expressed on the event topics that appealed most, provided there was new, innovative and practical experience on offer.

We did get a brickbat on our admittedly thin website and Facebook page – point noted, our board members are all volunteers of course, but we’ll do our best to fix this over time.

We asked respondents whether the chapter should do more advocacy on behalf of members, in the wake of State Services Minister Tony Ryall’s direction to state sector CEOs to cut their numbers of communications staff. The chapter wrote to the Minister seeking clarification of his intentions.

Respondents had mixed views on whether the chapter should take on a more regular advocacy role. A slight majority favoured doing more, with several suggesting this should be done in concert with other bodies like PRINZ.