Following a successful Spring event, the next Halcyon lunch will take place on World Car Free Day - Wednesday 22 September 2010. MIPAA members, friends and colleagues - old and new - are welcome to attend the reunion lunch at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street, London. Cost is £30 per person for a three-course lunch menu includes coffee and VAT (cash bar from midday). Follow the link in the right hand menu for online booking and payment by credit card. Alternatively, contact Heather Yaxley, MIPAA general secretary for booking and alternative payment arrangements.
As part of the MIPAA Leadership Forum, members of the committee attended the annual meeting with representatives from the Association of Motoring Writers Groups (AMWG) to discuss areas of interest. Notes from the meeting can be downloaded here: mipaa_amwg_notes
Gaucho Productions is looking for a Senior Account Manager to take charge of an exciting new PR project, Automotive PR has two new vacancies and Hyundai is advertising a Media Relations Manager post. See: JobSearch for details of these and other vacancies and how to contact the Jobsearch co-ordinator. More Jobs and Talent wanted - following a busy first half of 2010 for successfully filled vacancies.
HOT YOUNG TALENT is being sought for the 2010
Autocar
Next Generation Award - an amazing opportunity for
any undergraduate studying at a British university. Run in conjunction
with Courland Automotive Practice and the SMMT, it offers a cash prize
of £7500 and an extensive programme of work experience provided by the
award’s blue-chip sponsors: Honda UK, the Marshall Motor Group, Peugeot,
Mercedes-Benz Retail and Toyota GB. Follow the easy link to the
Next Generation microsite for details of how to enter, the 2010 judges
and 2009 winners.
MIPAA members are invited to attend the first ever Guild of Motoring
Writers' Bring Your Own Car day on September 4th. This new event offers
a day of gentle driving and fun, plus a social
evening with hog roast and music at Guild member Chris Mann’s farm near
Aylesbury. Entries by Monday 16th August latest - guild_entry_form. Fee is
£30 per car and driver plus an extra
£20 for each additional adult passenger. There’s a family rate of £60 as
long as children are under 18.
The 2010 MIPAA Business Academy annual PR Masterclass: WORLD CLASS provided an insight into the skills and knowledge required for senior communicators, particularly in an environment where marketing and PR are harder to distinguish and global crisis can emerge from nowhere (with the added complication of online citizen journalists). See below for links to presentations and other discussion points from the event.
Twitter and Facebook are the New PR Influencers according to the panel of experts at the latest MIPAA Business Academy professional development workshop.
MIPAA members agree according to Chairman, Gabi Whitfield, who shared highlights from the 2010 survey. The majority of members - all experienced practitioners in motor industry PR - are using social media (SM) with the top-ranking micro-blogging and social network sites their favourite tools. Nine out of 10 believe SM will affect PR careers with 89% recognising a need to upscale their skills. Four experts led the workshop and links to their presentations are below.
Check out the new MIPAA YouTube Channel for videos recorded at this workshop: www.youtube.com/mipaavideo
The programme for the 2nd half of 2010 will include a range of MIPAA Business Academy professional development workshops, Leadership Forums and social activities. Details will be available via the online calendar. Online booking and payment can be made via the links on the right.
The 2009 MIPAA Chairman's Award was presented to BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans at the Christmas lunch on 8 December. The award recognised Chris's enthusiasm, passion and love of motoring on the BBC2 Drivetime Show - as well as raising over £1 million for Children in Need in 2008 and 2009.
The fund-raiser focuses on Chris's fleet of Ferrari cars and as a special gift, MIPAA member, Jason Harris kindly presented him with a unique artist's image of the Ferrari 250 California. Photos from the lunch - including the presentation to Chris Evans will be featured in the next edition of the members' magazine, Revolve, due out in early January.
BOOK EARLY FOR the popular MIPAA Christmas lunch which returns to the Michelin starred Roussillon Restaurant in Pimlico, London on Wednesday 15 December - which was fully booked last year.
Cost tbc - guests welcome. Lunch will include aperitif, 3 course menu (with choice on the day) and half a bottle of wine per person.
Following a request from Haymarket, we set up a MIPAA leadership forum comprising a small group of senior motor manufacturer PR directors and motoring magazine publishers. Here are the mipaa_motoring_magazine_leadership_forum_notes - along with a draft "wish list" for the the_perfect_car_launch produced by the magazines.
Insight into the new influencers was provided by a top team of experts:
Mark Borkowski , legendary PR expert, challenged motor industry PR practitioners to follow in the creative footsteps of their predecessors and exploit the new media opportunities that better match PR skills than those of colleagues in
marketing.
Marc Wright of simply-communicate provided the internal perspective on enabling employees to act as positive influencers, including in social media.
MIPAA members braved the snowy conditions to attend a workshop focused on practical online PR skills. Although PR's very own IT whizz, Brendan Cooper was unable to attend owing to the bad weather, he has blogged his presentation at http://brendancooper.com/2009/02/06/mipaa-presentation-seo/
Online broadcaster and PR consultant, Peter Brill looked at producing podcasts whilst case studies and group exercises covered viral
campaigns and online crisis management
MIPAA is inviting students undertaking their University placement year in a PR role in the motor industry to apply for a new two year associate membership - 'MIPAA Nippers', which is available free of charge to those whose applications are approved by the Executive Committee. Download: application_form
[Note: Associate membership for those with fewer than 12 months' qualifying experience is normally £40 per annum]
If you don't know your blogroll from a bacon roll, then sign up for the next MIPAA workshop from 10.00-12.30 on Tuesday 17 April, in association with SMMT, at Forbes House, Halkin St, London SW1X 7DS.
Our first ever Bloggers' Brunch brings together a number of bloggers from the world of PR and journalism to help you discover the potential - and pitfalls - of this innovative new communications technique. Sign up and pay online or email: - cost £30 per person inc refreshments (yes, there will be bacon rolls)