PR-Net meets at the QuirkStation
by Lyndi Lawson
Anyone arriving at the office this time last Tuesday would have been surprised at what they found. First of all, the office was virtually empty, aside from a few of the die-hards (who I secretly believe sleep under their desks, anyway). Then there were the chairs; about 55 of them; all over the place. Blue balloons littered the floor. And there was an odd looking dartboard propped up against the wall, painted in bands of red, white and blue. The QuirkStars (those not chained to their desks in the production studio) were also behaving oddly. Desks were tidy (an unusual state of affairs), the interns were sitting on the floor, blowing up balloons and stapling them to the dartboard. Others were carrying furniture, arranging flowers, tidying up. But why, you might ask: all in preparation for a sensory onslaught; food, wine, information and merriment – a PR-Net meeting, all caught on film by Tristan from MyVideo.
PR-Net is a peer network for the communications industry. They hold monthly gatherings in Cape Town and Johannesburg, each with topical themes and speakers. The most recent of these was of course hosted by Quirk. It was an evening that began with aplomb and continued in that fashion. The dartboard was a hit (no pun intended) with nearly everyone taking the opportunity to burst a balloon or two, or three, or four and go for the bulls-eye. The winner of this off-the-wall darts competition was the Red Cross Children’s Hospital. Their prize is a six month, unlimited BrandsEye license worth R30 000.
Congratulations to Natalie, and to Scott from Encyclomedia whose darts skills won him a one month BrandsEye license.
In a delicious turn of events, the ELEVEN Food Coaching Co-Op not only provided a range of scrumptious snacks to the crowd, but also encouraged some interactive eating. After a demonstration the chef, Natale and Glynnis Roberts (the co-op’s principle) had the guests constructing fabulous noodlebasket-dukkah-encrusted-tunaloin-vodka-infused-watermelon-limezest stacked constructions. Confusing, but quite delectable, and certainly unlike anything else that has ever emerged from Quirk’s kitchen.
Social Lubrication Anyone?
Perdeberg Wines (the one with the zebra!) provided a range of liquid refreshments for the evening, and it is clear that their enthusiasm for wine and the making of it is paying off. My personal favourite was the Shiraz, but there seemed to be a number of people with a preference for the equally delicious Sauvignon Blanc Reserve. Not only could the guest sample and choose between varieties of Perdeberg wines, but the Perdeberg team was on hand to advise the tasters, and talk about their vines and their wines.
Featuring prominently in the evening’s proceedings, Perdeberg was also the focus of a Wired Communications presentation about the winery’s unique marketing strategy, which has involved the development of a Facebook application that provides users with the opportunity to win wine from the farm. Innovative and pretty successful by the sounds of things.
What’s Up With Online Reputation Management?
The evening was completed by a presentation on Online Reputation Management, given by Quirk CEO, Rob Stokes. In addition to talking about the increasing need for companies to manage their online reputations, Rob also introduced BrandsEye, Quirk’s exceptional new tool designed to help you monitor, understand and manage what is happening to your brand’s reputation in cyberspace. Always a good speaker, Rob managed to drive the point home, and even managed to get a few laughs from his audience.
Many Thanks
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