blog

Archive for the ‘Curve News’ Category
« Older Entries

We’re Hiring a Public Relations, Social Media and Online Marketing Strategist

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Curve Communications is hiring! Note, our deadline for application is Friday August 27.

Do you tweet and use Facebook every day, all day? Is building social communities so ingrained you just can’t stop? Are you constantly reading up on the newest online trend, tool or social network? Are you interested in working in a dynamic and fast-paced agency environment where you’ll be doing a wide variety of tasks?

ABOUT US:

We are an integrated marketing and public relations agency seeking a highly a motivated individual with experience and passion for social media, SEO and online marketing, as well as experience in public relations and traditional marketing. Our clients base is very diverse,  ranging from arts & culture, to non-profit,  to products or services, to major corporations.  Take a moment to learn about us, what we do, and who we’ve done it for.

ABOUT YOU:

Our ideal candidate has a bachelor’s or associates degree in communications, advertising, marketing, English, or related. We’re looking for someone who is able to work effectively without close supervision; thrive in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment; can juggle tasks and deadlines for multiple clients; and possess superior oral and written communication skills

Note: We are particularly interested in a candidate that is passionate about sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle and is regularly following news and updates about this growing trend.

ROLES:

ONLINE COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT/SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT:

A)    REQUIREMENTS:

  1. Familiarity with online communities and social networking sites (Such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc.) and how to use them for marketing, community development, and brand awareness generation.
  2. Ability to develop and execute online marketing strategies using the latest tools and technologies.
  3. Ability to manage multiple accounts and profiles on various social media networks is essential.
  4. Experience writing industry-appropriate, keyword rich blog content
  5. Knowledge of blogging platforms (particularly WordPress) and the use of plugins to optimize.
  6. Possesses functional knowledge or some experience with HTML/CSS

B)    TASKS

  1. Manage various existing social network profiles simultaneously, create new accounts as needed.
  2. Create Facebook fan pages (using FBML customizable tags); Create Twitter Profiles (including designing background layout); Create e-newsletters (knowledge of email marketing platforms, HTML & CSS).
  3. Stay up-to-date with new and emerging online tools, technologies and social sharing
  4. Research and write regular industry-appropriate blog content (for various client blogs), changing tone to suit the clients’ brand; write regular content for the agency’s blog
  5. Design, write and publish e-newsletters as needed by clients
  6. Track, evaluate and report on the agency and client’s visibility and influence online
  7. Attend social media networking events (tweetups) and connect with influencers
  8. Develop targeted strategies using social media networks as channels for reaching determined objectives (i.e. if the client is seeking to generate brand awareness vs. manage customer relations)

ONLINE MARKETING AND SEO:

A.)  REQUIREMENTS:

  1. An understanding of integrated organic optimization (SEO), social media optimization (SMO) and paid placement (PPC).
  2. The ability to review various websites and identify areas of improvement for organic search engine discoverability.
  3. Demonstrated ability in planning integrated online marketing strategies that include SEO, SEM, SMM, and SMO .
  4. Strong research and analytical skills relating to keyword research and competitive analysis.

B.)  TASKS:

  1. Perform site audits (both visible content and back-end meta-data, permalinks, etc.) to identify areas of improvement for organic search engine visibility.
  2. Develop strategies that integrate SEO, SEM, SMM and SMO to improve the visibility and traffic of the clients’ online presences.
  3. Perform competitive analysis of clients’ competitors keywords and SEO efforts.
  4. Perform keyword research
  5. Analyse campaigns and translate anecdotal or qualitative data into recommendations and plans for revising the online marketing campaigns.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

A.)  REQUIREMENTS

  1. Excellent written and oral communication skills (Examples Required).
  2. Ability to manage multiple projects and demands at a time.
  3. Excellent writing skills, with a high level of attention to detail.
  4. Previous PR experience will be a considerable asset

B.)  TASKS:

  1. Develop creative story ideas, pr stunt ideas and pitches
  2. Pitch to media and garner hits; Establish, develop and maintain relationships with media contacts
  3. Write compelling press releases, pitches and media kit materials
  4. Identify main target audiences and determine the best way to reach them.
  5. Communicate and liaise with media professionals, providing press materials in order to facilitate media coverage for the client.

If you’ve read through the requirements and roles and are interested in learning more, please send a cover letter telling us about yourself and resume (in PDF) to jobs(at)curvecommunications.com by August 27, 2010.

Please note that due to the volume of applications received, only those who we wish to interview will be contacted.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Curve News | 3 Comments »

George Affleck and Curve Communications in ‘Business In Vancouver’

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Business in Vancouver recently featured an article on Public Relations and Social Media. We were thrilled when Glen Korstrom contacted Curve Communications’ CEO and President George Affleck for his thoughts on how Public Relations can adapt to the ever changing environment of online social networking. Here’s what George, and some other Vancouver PR companies, had to say:

PR Sector Grapples with Social Media

Changing technology throws industry-wide spin into traditional career advancement model for aspiring publicists

By Glen Korstrom
The rise of social media is rattling the foundations of business models at public relations companies across Metro Vancouver.

That shake-up has forced some agencies to close, which in turn has increased the number of independent public relations consultants at a time when younger, aspiring PR professionals are opting to go it alone.

They say the traditional model of career advancement in public relations is “broken” and that establishing a reputation as a social media expert is a better springboard to a successful career than is slowly climbing the ladder at a traditional agency to be an account manager.

“Traditional agency models seem to be going the way of the dinosaur,” said Patrick Lok, who prefers the title of “town crier” at fast-growing do-it-yourself website-seller CityMax.

“The career path of going to a big public relations agency to do pitching, writing releases and making connections in the old-school traditional method is no longer the route that people are supposed to take.”

Lok believes the current smart career route is to build social networks via Facebook, Twitter and other online avenues while working on projects – sometimes as a volunteer. Lok conceded that social media is only one tool in a publicist’s arsenal, but he said it’s changing the industry because younger people tend to be more adept at social media and it reduces the need for what have been core services offered by traditional agencies, such as keeping clipping files for clients.

Industry veteran Mat Wilcox agreed that the clipping services part of the business has been rendered virtually obsolete. She said Google and social media sites make it easy for clients to find out what’s being said about them.

That contributed to her decision to close her agency at the end of August and become a social media consultant.

“The things we used to do in the past aren’t as effective anymore, because everything is direct,” Wilcox said. “It’s either direct to customer, direct to shareholders or direct to consumers. The first go-to place is going to be social media now. That’s what I’m going to be studying and figuring out the best resources and tools for how to do it right.”

But other longtime PR professionals who started paying attention to social media several years ago believe it’s an exaggeration to say that the public relations business model is broken.

“It has drastically changed,” said AHA Creative Strategies Inc. principal Ruth Atherley.

She remembers getting blank stares four years ago when she suggested that a client write a blog.

Today, they’re starting to realize that blogs and tweets can boost their ranking on Google, which is as good a reason as any to engage in those activities.

Atherley and others, such as Curve Communications principal George Affleck and former Quay Communications principal Della Smith, stress that social media is merely one tool that a public relations professional should have.

Other skills include knowing the value and best way to use media buys, guerilla marketing and websites.

Social media closes the gap between the speaker and the receiver of the information, said Affleck, but there’s still room for newspapers.

He added that newspapers might not be as dominant as they once were, but their decline does not bring with it the demise of public relations.

“Sometimes people think public relations is media relations,” Affleck said. “Media relations is a component of public relations, which is reaching the public however possible.”

Smith said she wound down her agency last summer, not because business was slow, but because she wanted to write a book – a task she has yet to complete.

“Social media is another tool, but it’s not as though communications is going away,” Smith said. “People need communications more than ever.”

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Curve News, Industry News | Comments Off

Curve’s Favourite Guerilla Campaigns

Friday, July 9th, 2010

We don’t know about you, but our sock drawers seems to be depleted by one every time we use the washing machine. There must be hundreds of cartoons, anecdotes and theories on the net discussing how this can possibly happen (the sock monster theory being a personal favourite). In fact, losing socks is one of the universal anecdotes and comical shared experiences of the Western world.

That’s why we were particular impressed with a recent guerilla advertising campaign from German advertising company Haye & Partner GmhH. The Hamburg-based company started an innovative guerilla campaign by placing single white socks with the caption “Also Single?” in Laundromat machines. The aim is to surprise single men and women with it when they find the item and relate to it.

We like the campaign because it’s original, fresh, and taps into the almost universally understood experience, while showing an insightful understanding of a key target demographic.

It got some of the Curve team thinking about some of our favourite guerilla marketing campaigns across the world to date. Here’s a shortlist:

Sophia likes the recent World Cup stunt by Dutch beer company Bavaria, which saw attractive girls in Netherlands and Bavaria branding taking to the stands to be filmed for key matches. You can read our initial blog post about this, too.

Call us slightly biased but Laura liked the campaign that Curve ran for Sleeping Beauty by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 2007. We placed a live ‘Sleeping Beauty’ with pointe shoes in The Aberdeen Centre and asked passers-by to fill out ballots to be her Prince Charming and win tickets to the show. The response was spectacular.

Zoe continues to be impressed by The Zimbabwean newspaper’s campaign which took the worthless dollar currency of the country and used it to print roadside advertisements, flyers, and marketing materials on, using both the medium and the text to highlight their key message.

Victoria likes lululemon’s initial campaign that challenged exercise fans to turn up to the store naked. Those brave enough would be kitted out with lululemon’s lines entirely free.

What are your favourites?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Curve News, Industry News | 1 Comment »

Curve Communications on the CBC Six O’Clock News

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Curve HQ was abuzz on Wednesday morning at the start of Official Social Media Day.  While the great online resource site Mashable encouraged meetups around the world, the city of Victoria and the city of Vancouver both issued proclamations declaring June 30th as Social Media Day.  Here at Curve Communications, as you may recall, we issued a tongue-in-cheek press release to mark the new holiday describing how our public relations and integrated marketing agency would be celebrating the occasion.  We posted the press release on social media sites: pitchengine.com and our blog, then tweeted it out and posted links on our Facebook page.  We were making a conscious effort to show that social media is a great PR tool for breaking news and having a story reaching the most people possible.

Not half an hour into our working day I received a tweet from CBC reporter Theresa Lalonde. As their resident social media reporter, she was excited by our team’s enthusiasm and wanted to come down to our office with a camera to share it on the 6 o’clock news.

We spent the morning with Theresa, who had Curve CEO George Affleck explain how Public Relations agencies need to adapt to the world of online media in order to stay relevant.

Click here to watch the clip and see George, Zoe, Lisa, Sophia and Kirstin talk about how the internet is an integral part of their day.

We love using our clients as case studies, but every now and then we’re fortunate enough to be able to use ourselves.  That being said, we never would have been on CBC were it not for all for followers retweeting and Facebook fans sharing- so thanks to all of you for helping us spread the word and demonstrate what an effective PR tool Social Media can be!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Curve News, Industry News | 1 Comment »

OMG: Curve Communications celebrates Social Media Day by forcing staff to speak in 140 characters or less

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Breaking News!

PR firm mandates staff to abide by online rules in bid to pressure  federal government for holiday recognition

Vancouver, BC – Leading PR and marketing firm Curve Communications Ltd. will honour Social Media Day on June 30, 2010 by fully embracing online conventions in the offline world. The company’s celebrations mark the start of their national campaign petitioning the federal government to make Social Media Day a statutory holiday. The team plans to draw attention to this historic cause by implementing rules from social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and StumbleUpon for real-life interactions.

“We R vry Xcited 4 social media day,” said @George_Affleck, President & CEO of Curve Communications Ltd. “AFAIK no 1 has evr done this b4. IMHO, this will b OOS. L8R.”

In addition to ensuring verbal communications adhere to Twitter’s cap of 140 characters or less, @CurveComms will use hashtags to categorize all email correspondence. Foam fingers to denote a “Like” status for any ideas or behavior in the office are mandatory, and to encourage teambuilding, small farmyard animals shall be brought into the office for flinging at colleagues. The firm’s office also faces a dramatic change: handmade paper wreaths with intertwining links of paper will drape around desks to honour LinkedIn. Similarly, interesting articles placed at random points along the office floor will remind staff of the importance of StumbleUpon, although staff have been warned that too much stumbling will result in getting Pinged. Affleck is serious about the implementation of these rules: should anyone break them, they will be forced to put a loonie in the loonie bin.

The team plans to end their celebrations on June 30 at an aptly named restaurant, Hub, one block away. It is at Hub where Curve will discuss their future steps for protest and prepare to celebrate one of the most important day’s in the country: Canada Day, July 1.

If Curve’s efforts to enact Social Media Day are successful, the communications company will implement these changes on a full-time basis. “We have embraced social media as an essential part of the 21st century marketing strategy,” explained Affleck. “This is just the next stage in our staff fully connecting with the online community. We will continue to abide by these office rules while pressuring the government to recognize this uplifting and inspiring day. TTYL.”

-30-

For media relations or to arrange an interview with George, contact ONLY via twitter: @curvecomms

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Curve News, Industry News | 2 Comments »

Curve Gets $133,989 Worth Of Media Coverage In Just One Hit

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

We are currently conducting a media relations campaign for Sinucleanse (see our posts about other media hits) and recently secured a full-page, full-colour article in the Winnipeg Free Press.

There’s an old saying that “With marketing you pay, with PR you pray,” highlighting the often uncertain nature of embarking on media relations campaigns. At the Curve office, we don’t quite believe this adage. A number of techniques– all of which which we pride ourselves on at Curve – can be used to increase the likelihood of a successful campaign. A strong working relationship with media, an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the industry, appealing and accurate writing skills, and insightful timing are all important to secure coverage.

Having said that, sometimes it’s necessary for a team to reassert why new clients should trust the leap into the unknown of PR. It can be challenging to see the financial benefits of editorial coverage compared with advertising if you haven’t seen the sensational long term results we have, caused by building brand recognition, reputation, and top-of-mind placement. While editorial coverage often provides benefits that can be seen in weeks and months and even years to come, there is a guiding formula for those who want a monetary sum attached to their coverage. To calculate the ‘value’ of a media hit, communications organizations use the equivalent cost the article’s space would cost if it was an advert and multiply that figure by three. Why three? Well, it may not be an exact science but the multiplication represents the increased importance and trust the public places in editorial coverage as opposed to advertising.

In the case of the Sinucleanse article we secured in the Winnipeg Free Press, the value of the hit is over an astonishing $133,989!

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Curve News, Product & Service Client News | Comments Off

Shiver Me Timbers! Curve Goes On A Cruise

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

The Curve team were windswept and invigorated after an evening on the boat.

A few weeks ago, the Curve Communications team took to the high seas for a team-building boat cruise to celebrate the start of summer. With our CEO and President George manning the barbeque, and a selection of salads and goodies below deck (not to mention a good amount of grog to keep things going), we headed from Marinaside Crescent past False Creek before moving into the Burrard Inlet, curving around Stanley Park and docking in Coal Harbour a few hours later. You can check out our route with Google Maps.

When it comes to our small, close-knit marketing and PR team, communication in the Curve office is always flowing, whether we’re brainstorming ideas for a client’s event, making final changes to a carefully worded press release, or creating new strategies for our media relations campaigns. However, we all enjoy the opportunity to spend time as a team in a social setting – especially one in which the wind blows through our hair and we can legitimately use as much pirate slang as possible!

Check out the complete photographic collection of our sailor adventures on Curve’s Facebook page.

We would also like to thank Nuno and his team at One 4 Yacht Fractions for sailing us round the beautiful city!

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Curve News | 1 Comment »

Curve Communications Attends the Rogers TV Sales Fall Launch

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

On Tuesday, June 8, some of the Curve Communications team attended City TV’s Fall 2010 Launch, celebrating the upcoming schedule of television shows and discussing previous success and future goals. Regular readers of this blog may have read about our attendance at last year’s event where we rubbed shoulders with one of Reality TV’s biggest stars.

This year’s launch, once more at the Vancouver Aquarium, showcased a number of new additions to the channel including some big dramas from the US, such as Fringe, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and featuring Joshua Jackson and John Noble. Many regular favorites on the channel, such as Community and The Biggest Loser, will remain on the fall schedule, too.

Attending media launches is always a pleasure for the Curve team, enabling our media buyers & planners to make and refresh connections with our media counterparts. As an integrated marketing agency, we ensure we maintain positive relationships with media outlets throughout the country so that our Media Relations and Media Buying is optimized for our clients.

The event was also an opportunity for Curve staff to indulge in some vanity with Rogers’ nifty photo booth to mark the occasion. In the somber looking photos on the left George and Zoe were joined by City TV’s Amanda Bates and Kyle Donaldson.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Curve News, Industry News | Comments Off

Heads Up to Yaletown Office Workers

Monday, May 17th, 2010

This morning we had a young man come into our office asking for work.  Our receptionist went further back into the office to speak to senior staff, returned to inform the man that there were no openings, and he quickly left.  About five minutes after he left, Naomi noticed that her iPhone was missing.

We did not actually see the individual in question take the phone, however we do know that he wandered through a number of the offices in our building and raised suspicion amongst our neighbours.   If this individual comes into your place of work, we would strongly encourage you not to leave him alone.

This man was approximately 5’10, and 160lbs, likely 19-25. He had light brown hair and a slim build.  He was wearing a tie, jeans, shirt and hoodie; he also had a large diamante earring in his left ear.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Curve News | 2 Comments »

Sophia’s Tweet Made it to Vancouver’s 24 Hours Newspaper

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Everyone here at the office had a good chuckle when one of our Client Services Managers, Sophia Cheng, who is quite an avid twitter user appeared in Vancouver’s 24 Hours newspaper.

Check out the tweet that sent her into the spotlight  below:

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Curve News | Comments Off

« Older Entries