PMA 2011 Show Consumer Promo Launch & NSW Meeting

The campaign to drive consumers into retail stores to pick up their free tickets to the Imaging & Entertainment Expo next month was launched on Tuesday evening, 24^th May at the North Ryde RSL Function Centre. Attended by representatives from Sydney and Melbourne retail stores, Wholesalers and Distributors and representatives from ACMP,

Peter Rose spoke of the encouraging response to registrations to the Expo to date, with registrations more than double to that of the same period (36 days out) prior to the Show last year.

Paul Curtis spoke about the 2011 Show Consumer Promotions campaign and thanked the retailers for their enthusiasm in getting behind the campaign already. Most retailers had received their Promo Kits from Stand Alone Design already and were using them to promote the Show. The kits contained a CD with artwork for free tickets to the Expo, flyers and web banners. Stan Kessanis had extra kits with him and made them available at the end of the meeting. Paul Curtis explained the investment in advertising the 2011 Show - $100K is being spent on TV advertising, going to air on all Sydney channels from Monday 20^th June. Radio 2GB will be broadcasting from the Show on Sunday, 10am- 12noon, in the Charlie Brown Technology program, and Peter Blasina will broadcast educational segments on Chanel 7. Advertising by Exhibitors will be the focus of Newspaper publicity over the Show period. Jerrel Dulay will be managing Social Media advertising through facebook, twitter & flickr again in 2011. The hashtag for this year's Show on twitter will be #PMAExpo2011.

The promotional campaign launch was followed by a quarterly meeting of  NSW Industry Members, in which

     Peter Rose spoke about the Future Leaders Workshops, with 23 attending the Sydney workshop, 20 in 

      Melbourne, and 12 at the Brisbane workshop. He reported that it was very encouraging to see the Future

      Leaders participants understanding and excited by the retail concepts in the full-day training Workshop, which

      was so capably delivered by The Friedman Groups Kassandra Lewis. Steve Norris made the comment that "All

      participants who attended the Workshops were winners" and Marcia Paxton suggested that the Workshops

      should be run more often, but not on Fridays, - Paxton's Future Leader attending the Workshop found the training one 

      of the best he has attended. Survey response to the Workshop ranged from very good to excellent, and an Exceptional

      Future Leader will be chosen from written submissions in the next few weeks.

      Peter Rose spoke about the Fair Imports Alliance, saying there were 6 Associations in the Alliance, the GST issue

      proving unpalatable for politicians to take action on the matter. PMA, as part of the Fair Imports Alliance, has lodged a

      submission to the Productivity Commission, with parts of the submission coming from John Swanston's excellent

      report. Public hearings for the Productivity Commission will commence in September 2011. John Swainston suggested

      another way to put pressure on the GST issue is to involve your local Member, especially in dense retail areas. He

      reported that Canada has fixed the issue on GST free imports by charging GST on all imports.

      Richard Robertson provided his thoughts on the New Consumer Laws, and that Retailers should be aware of the      

      Rulings in the ACCC Guide to Consumer Rights. Under the new laws there is no fixed period of warranty for products,

      and warranty is counted as any reasonable amount of time after the purchase of the goods, depending on how much

      was paid for the goods. Richard also noted that failure of a camera overseas, and subsequently lost images

      may result in the Retailer being accountable for travel costs involved. Heavy emphasis has been placed on the Retailer

      being accountable for repair/replacement/refund, rather than the Manufacturer, so that it is important that Suppliers are

      providing clear policies and warranty arrangements to the Retailers. An example of heavy fines to Retailers who breach

      warranty was provided. Richard also spoke about an iPhone application "My Shopping Rights" which consumers were

      downloading to obtain information about their rights to a refund/exchange/repair of products. This application was widely

      available and being advertised on the radio, make consumers acutely aware of their warranty rights, and therefore it is

      even more important to make all retail staff aware of warranty conditions.

Stan Kessanis of Stand Alone Design followed up on Robbo's talk and has provided the following links to assist those seeking more information.    The new act is explained here:
http://www.consumerlaw.gov.au/content/Content.aspx?doc=home.htm 
Relevant FREE Iphone apps for download:
ACLC  This Thomson Reuters application helps you navigate Australian consumer law changes which replace the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) on 1 January 2011. It helps you find relationships between sections of these two Acts.  http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/aclc/id416142559?mt=8 
MyShopRights helps you with your refund, warranty and lay-by rights while you're shopping, or any time.
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/my-shop-rights/id408371670?mt=8

Sydney photography business breaches sham contracting laws

The worker had been employed part-time by Signature Portrait Studios, based in Seaforth, for about three months in 2009 when she told business owner-manager Lynne Brabban she was pregnant.

Ms Brabban responded by terminating the worker's employment with Signature Portrait Studios and engaging her as an independent contractor.

Fair Work Ombudsman Executive Director Michael Campbell says this breached sham contracting provisions of workplace laws because the worker's correct classification was as an employee, not a contractor.

"Sham contracting occurs when an employer disguises or misrepresents an employment relationship as an independent contracting arrangement, often to avoid paying entitlements," Mr Campbell said.

Fair Work inspectors discovered the sham contracting when they investigated a complaint made by the worker.

As a result of the sham contracting, the worker was underpaid $3950 in wages and leave entitlements.

Inspectors also discovered that Signature Portrait Studios had underpaid another employee $250 and had breached workplace laws relating to frequency of payment, record-keeping and issuing of payslips.

Ms Brabban admitted the contraventions and voluntarily rectified the underpayments.

She has entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman in which she has agreed to donate $250 to the Kingsford Community Legal Centre and receive training to develop systems for ensuring compliance before she employs any workers in the future.

Signature Portrait Studios is currently not operating.

Mr Campbell says all employers should realise that just because a worker is labeled an independent contractor, it does not necessarily mean they can legally be classified and paid as a contractor.

"Where we suspect sham contracting is occurring, we look behind the documents and apply workplace laws to determine the true state of affairs," he said.

"It is vital we ensure workers are classified correctly, because if they are incorrectly classified as independent contractors, they can miss out on 
employee entitlements."

The Fair Work Ombudsman is currently conducting a national education and compliance campaign targeting sham contracting.

Employers and workers seeking advice or assistance regarding independent contracting and sham contracting can visit the Fair Work Ombudsman's website at www.fairwork.gov.au/contractors.

Employers or employees seeking assistance should contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or visitwww.fairwork.gov.au.

A free interpreter service is available on 13 14 50.

For those looking to attend next year's PMA@CES convention and show in Las Vegas here is the latest info from both the McCurry Ideas Exchange and PMA 

Last week we commented that PMA's commitment to continuing the educational program is as strong as ever.

While we haven't got all the details yet, we now know that DIMA and other educational sessions folks are used to will take place during the two days before PMA@CES - that is, on Sunday and Monday.

The exact locations and schedule haven't been announced yet. Just be sure that you don't schedule flights that get you there after the "good stuff" is over!

About hotels: PMA and CES will soon announce recommended hotels with preferred rates, and IPI is negotiating a recommended hotel. But you should know that this is such a busy week in Las Vegas you may not see the bargains that were once available.

Our suggestion: start looking now, reserve something now but do not make non-refundable reservations. That usually means to investigate through the online sources like hotels.com, but reserve directly with the hotel's local telephone number. Ask them to match the online source pricing.

That way, if PMA or IPI or CES offers a whiz-bang deal you can rebook and not lose money on your original reservation.

Now let's address some confusion about the Sands/Venetian Conference Center:

·               It's not the old Sands hotel; that was demolished 15 years ago

·               It's located contiguous to and behind the Venetian Hotel and the Palazzo

·               Sands Avenue runs alongside it

·               There's total space of 2.25 million square feet (we will not be taking up all of that, of   course)

·               There will be transportation between the events there and the LVCC

PMA is planning shuttle buses between the Venetian/Sands complex and PMA designated hotels

What besides PMA@CES will be held at the Venetian/Sands?

In addition to CES Unveiled and other press events, CES has recently announced that all of their keynote presentations will take place at the Venetian. High Performance Audio exhibits, the Sustainable Planet TechZone, and the new Eureka! Park TechZone, as well as additional exhibits for Computer Hardware & Software, Connected Home, Content Distribution, Electronic Gaming, Emerging Technology, Entertainment/Content, Internet-Based Multimedia Services, Lifestyle Electronics, Telecommunications Infrastructure and Wireless & Wireless Devices, will also be located in the Venetian.

Will PMA be offering a block of hotels as in the past? I would like to get my hotel secured as soon as possible. When will this information be available?

PMA and CES are working together to secure "PMA host hotels". More information will be coming soon. The CES room block opens June 1, 2011 for individual rooms. Requests for room blocks of 10+ rooms may be emailed at anytime to Suzi Barger sbarger at pmai.org

Will attendees be able to move freely from CES to PMA@CES exhibits? Are there additional fees?

Attendees of both events will be allowed access to all exhibits with their registration badge. There are no additional fees to PMA@CES attendees to visit CES exhibits and vice versa.

Will there be transportation available between the Venetian/Sands Complex and the Las Vegas Convention Center?

Yes. Transportation will be available between the various facilities where CES and PMA activities will be held. PMA attendees wishing to visit CES exhibits at the convention center may ride on the complimentary "Venetian Express". There are also plans to run shuttles to and from the Venetian/Sands Complex to PMA-designated hotels.

Has CliQ 2011 been cancelled? No, the event has been postponed until January when PMA will co-locate with CES.

Why the change? PMA is moving the show as a proactive response to the tremendous financial burden placed on our industry as a result of the Japan earthquake/tsunami disaster. We hope that this move will provide short-term relief and create a synergy for all exhibitors.

Is CEA and PMA now one organization? No. PMA and CEA are separate associations that have come together to offer their members and event attendees an enhanced opportunity to explore the photographic industry and learn how to take advantage of the integration and connectivity of personal content and home entertainment.

When and where will the PMA event in conjunction with CES be held? PMA@CES will be held January 10-13, 2012, at the Sands EXPO Convention Center. This will include both educational sessions and exhibits.

Exhibits will be open:

·               Tuesday, January 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

·               Wednesday, January 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

·               Thursday, January 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

·               Friday, January 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

I have contracted for space at CliQ 2011. What do I need to do? Representatives from the PMA Trade Exhibits department will contact you with further information on the move to January. Reassignment of space will begin soon.

If I am a CES exhibitor with space in the LVCC. can I move to the Sands? Yes. CES exhibitors interested in relocating to PMA@CES should contact PMA Trade Exhibits at 517-788-8100 for more information.

Will there still be education and conferences? Yes. PMA will continue to offer the high level of educational sessions to photo imaging trade and professional photographers. More information will be posted on the PMA@CES site soon.

Will GES continue to be the show contractor? Yes. Global Experience Specialists (GES) will be the official show contractor for PMA@CES.

I am interested in getting space at PMA@ CES. Who can I call? Exhibiting information is currently being prepared. Contact Jeff Frazine at jfrazine@pmai.org or 517-788-8100, ext. 289 for more information.

What happened to CliQ? PMA remains committed to the new brand initiative, CliQ. We see value in growing the entire photographic industry, educating aspiring pros, and connecting enthusiasts with the industry. New features are coming soon to www.cliqworld.com.

If you are looking for a pitch perfect way to create viral marketing ads, you will find no better example than TheCameraStoreTV, a YouTube channel from The Camera Store, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  One of its latest videos, "Battle at F-Stop Ridge," has been viewed nearly a million times (1.4 million as of 26/5).

Read an article on the making of the video on the store's Photo Republik  blog or simply sit back and enjoy.

June 23^rd - 26^th                  PMA 2011 Imaging & Entertainment Expo