An award-winning, independently-owned agency with offices in Sydney (Australia) and Auckland (New Zealand) that services some of the biggest brands in the world. We challenge ourselves to make everything we do sticky, relevant and memorable. Our agency heads have taken learnings from their experience at multi-national agencies to craft a distinctive and ownable offering. We celebrate our independence. We are masters of our own destiny.
Sling & Stone is a different kind of PR agency. We're a focused team, bursting with ambition, hustle and curiosity. We partner with entrepreneurs, challengers and disrupters. We love getting our hands dirty and working closely with people and brands that are changing the world around them, learning everything we can and telling their stories. We blend creativity with technology in a way that no one else does. We get a kick out of creating campaigns that deliver results and spark conversations.
SPAG Asia is a new generation public relations and advocacy firm, led by the working philosophy of BE REAL - Real Insights, Real Solutions and Real Impact.We take pride in developing high-impact communication campaigns; tailor-made to meet our client goals in the most productive manner. Content lies at the heart of all our campaign strategies. We are headquartered in Singapore, with parallel offices in Gurgaon and Mumbai; and have the strongest network of affiliates, across 175 locations.
Edelman is a leading global communications marketing firm that partners with many of the world's largest and emerging businesses and organizations, helping them evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. Edelman operates in 11 countries across APAC with affiliates in 40+ cities. Edelman was named The Holmes Report's 2014 APAC Digital Consultancy of the Year, Campaign's 2014 Australia/New Zealand PR Agency of the Year and PRWeek's 2015 Japan/Korea PR Consultancy of the Year.
Weber Shandwick is a leading PR firm in China with expertise in consumer marketing, corporate reputation, healthcare, technology, public affairs, finance and CSR. By boosting the agency's capacities beyond PR, enriching its talent pool, fostering inter-practice integration, cultivating organic growth, and giving back to the community, the agency has had a fulfilling and profitable year, with growth upwards of 40% and being named Greater China Consultancy of the Year by The Holmes Report.
Cohn & Wolfe Malaysia is the network's fastest growing and most successful office in Asia Pacific, having consistently posted double digit revenue growth since its inception in 2011. The agency's drive for innovation and result-oriented excellence has ensured a phenomenal client retention rate for brands such as Colgate, Nestle, Tetra Pak, 3M, Dulux, and Samsung. Recognising its achievements, The Holmes Report recently conferred Cohn & Wolfe the 2015 Southeast Asia Consultancy of the Year Award.
In 2015, FleishmanHillard HK (FHHK) has reinforced its reputation as the premier communications agency in Hong Kong. This has been a record year for FHHK, with 12% revenue growth on top of 13% in 2014. We continue to lead our regional network, outperforming in profitability and industry initiatives. Facing an evolving landscape demanding greater transparency, FH has adapted with a strategic, integrated approach. The growth of our award-winning corporate and creative work has been key to success.
NTU's in-house team, led by Dr Vivien Chiong, has shown how strategic communication is critical to an organisation's success. Since implementing its integrated communication strategy in 2011, the team has achieved positive perceptions of above 70% each year. NTU has shot up in global university rankings, from 58th in 2011 to 13th today. In just two years, the team has won 29 PR awards.
The AirAsia Communications Team consists of 9 individuals, with both Media Relations and Events Management functions. The team manages all public relations, corporate communications, commercial communications, issues & crisis management and management profiling. Our well-oiled team manages at least 30 press conferences / events in a year on average, as well as an average of 3 press releases every week, in line with AirAsia's many initiatives.
The Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) Corporate Relations (CR) team of eight is responsible for media and public relations, government relations, public affairs, social media, marketing communications, branding, video production, event production, sponsorships, corporate partnerships, stakeholder engagement, community engagement, issues management, crisis communications and special project communications for Australia's third busiest airport, servicing 22+ million passengers each year.
CLP launched a series campaigns about the company's core values while the government sought out public opinion over the development of the regulated electricity industry. These initiatives provided effective platforms to engage stakeholders and communicate with the public, earning community endorsement including those of government officials. It generated media coverage with an estimated value of over US$8 million.
Formed in 2014, we are a diverse team of 18 influencers, brand strategists, communication specialists, designers, filmmakers, photographers, digital marketers and community engagers. Li & Fung's strategic business objectives and brand reputation is managed by our team across every stakeholder group from our people to investors to global retailers. We live and breathe the Li & Fung brand.
Title: Toyota Sienta & Spade "Fun2gather"
Toyota in HK represents a household name since its models range from public transport like taxi, minibus to passenger cars. Thus, the launch of Sienta and Spade (S&S) aims to shift a deep-rooted perception from conservative to fun and energetic. The launch campaign takes a storytelling approach by personifying S&S as two distinctive characters who initiates car searching.
'See the Potential, Make it Possible' focuses on the stories and aspirations of everyday Chinese people and how Shell is involved in helping achieve these dreams. Through a series of short films and community outreach programs, Shell brought these ideas to life and demonstrated its commitment to meeting the energy demands of the China market in an environmentally responsible way.
CLP strives to be the leading responsible energy provider in Hong Kong. A lot of efforts has been put into promoting energy efficiency and conservation. One of the initiatives is the Eco Home Tour which combines social sharing and value added services of CLP. In addition, the mobile site can be used with the games in Eco Home which is our customer service centre for a unique O2O experience.
Zayed Future Energy Prize (ZFEP) is the world's most prestigious recognition dedicated to renewable energy and sustainability achievement. As part of DT's Asia Outreach program we focused on a niche community; Asia's sustainability industry, and extensively increased the recognition of ZFEP within the most prominent players in the Asian sustainability sector.
This campaign engaged consumers via multiple platforms to ignite social conversations and re-frame the way people thought of reading. It generated 200 million impressions and over 14,000 consumer posts and discussions online, making the campaign among the most successful in promoting reading in China in recent years. Kindle Voyage units completely sold out by end-2014 as a result of the campaign.
During the back to college season, transforming learning from a passive to an active pursuit with the help of technology was a vital stand Dell India wanted to pursue. Not ordinary things, but new things, surprising things, counter intuitive things, useful things that will make others want to follow your path. Things, that inspire.Learning meets doing is all about creating something.
Indeed, the world's largest job site, tasked agencies Hotwire, Mediacom and Mullen Lowe to drive uptake of services with Australian jobseekers and SMBs, and generate thought leadership with press at Vivid Sydney 2015. The two-month campaign reached 5M jobseekers, 750 SMB recruiters, and generated 32 articles. Indeed saw a 6% increase in web traffic and 136% increase in SMBs posting jobs.
How do you create and sustain interest in a product whose sole purpose is to measure manufactured parts in microns – a millionth of a metre? This was the challenge presented to Golin by Renishaw and their machine tools probes which play a vital role in high quality, precision manufacturing. Golin tackled this challenge with a fully integrated campaign delivering 1,300 new sales leads to Renishaw.
To highlight the imaging experience of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and sustain conversations months into its launch, Samsung invited prominent Indian journalists for a Photowalk. The experiential engagement enabled the media to test the device amidst the stunning landscapes of Sikkim. It resulted in 19 articles, over 200 posts on social media, with a reach of 712,000, and 2.9 million impressions.
How did Optus break an Australian Facebook record? And become the most successful piece of branded content Google have ever seen in Australia? And become the most watched ad on YouTube for Q2 in Australia? And become Optus' most successful video campaign to date? By paying Ricky Gervais to NOT make an ad to promote their launch partnership with Netflix in Australia.
Gigatown was a unique educational online and real world competition and marketing campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of New Zealand's new fibre broadband network. It drove a marked change in the public's understanding of fibre broadband. Uptake of fibre services tripled and a successful flagship gigabit fibre town was established to showcase the benefits of fast connectivity.
Qualcomm's inventions connect billions of people around the world and support some of our most used technologies. But, if you are like most users, you're probably not aware that you are. So Qualcomm asked the agency to create a marketing initiative to enhance people's awareness of its cutting edge technologies and showcase Qualcomm's inventions.
In 2014, the Chinese telecommunications industry was preparing to adopt 4G/LTE (Long-Term Evolution). However, the changes in 4G/LTE seemed small compared to 2G and 3G. By educating key stakeholders about the advantages of 4G/LTE, Qualcomm, a global technology leader in 4G/LTE, would increase consumer demand and usher in a new era in mobile communications in China.
Telekom Malaysia's Convergence Champion campaign is inspired by the vision to infuse a seamless broadband-enabled experience into people's lives. A vision to empower every facet of a nation- from Education, Healthcare, Banking to, Entertainment, Retail and more. A vision to converge technology platforms to enrich lives of Malaysians.
ManulifeMOVE is a unique insurance concept rewarding adults of all ages with premium discounts for living more active lifestyles. The simple, easy to join program lets members track their daily activity through the MOVE app which is tailored to the increasingly digital savvy customers and reinforces Manulife's position as a leading advocate for greater health and wellness.
To build affinity with women, ANZ created an emotionally provocative campaign that in just 10 days has been viewed online over 600,000 times, elicited nearly 30,000 website visits, close to $10m in media coverage and significant positive social media, differentiating ANZ from the male dominated financial services industry and creating active engagement.
MasterCard launched The Priceless Engine, a new digital platform that drives e-commerce and cross-border transactions for merchants and issuers around Asia Pacific. The Priceless Engine enables us to reach the right people, with the right message and the right offers, at the right time, resulting in never-before seen business results for MasterCard and it's partners. That's Priceless.
Title: POSB NeighboursFirst.SG - Your Neighbourhood. Redefined.
POSB NeighboursFirst.SG is a digital content platform built to house content pieces about the Singapore neighbourhood and engage these relevant stories to Millenials. The campaign fueled the brand's total engagement on social media making POSB the #1 banking brand in terms of interaction and sentiment. Mainly, it sparked a new sense of neighbourliness, the very essence of what POSB stands for.
This was a national campaign focused on small-medium size businesses with a plan to grow.From applications 6 businesses were selected to pitch their plan to a panel of experts to win a $50K package. The programme was run via social, digital and traditional channels. 424 applications were received, $4.2m in lending opportunities generated, 85K views of the event video and 10 businesses supported.
We embarked on an integrated marketing and media campaign in 2014 to get more people to train in first aid. The Break the Barrier TV commercial was hard-hitting and it has garnered many accolades from industry and the public. We negotiated a 4-week run of editorial (not paid for) carrying messaging relating back to the campaign which served once again to highlight the message that first aid saves.
Working cross-functionally with medical affairs experts and marketing colleagues, as well as with patient support groups, the Bayer communications team designed an educational program to raise awareness and understanding of CTEPH, a rare heart condition. The more people are aware, the sooner sufferers can be diagnosed and treated. The centerpiece of the program was the "6 Minute Run for CTEPH".
Title: Enlarging awareness of enlarged prostates: Are you a "More than once a night" man?
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH or enlarged prostate) affects one in three Australian men over 50 , but many think it is a sign of ageing and don't seek treatment. GSK's unbranded campaign used humour and a well known older men's sport celebrity to raise awareness of the condition's symptoms. The campaign got men to take action by doing an online test and going to the doctor.
Announcing the PBS listing of a breakthrough new MS treatment, Edelman worked closely with Genzyme to put patients and experts at the heart of the campaign to speak to the real life impact of the development and the newfound 'freedom to forget'. Reaching more than 20 million, it sparked social dialogues and increased sales figures beyond expectation.
Pro-X by Olay's newest addition to its line, Micro-Peel Essence, was designed by world renowned dermatologists to purify and renew skin from the effects of pollution. Capitalizing on the public's fear that smog was worsening in China, we created a multi-layered campaign showing the relationship between poor air quality and skin. It ran from late 2014 to February 2015 with a budget of $200,000.
Weber Shandwick helped ELLE Japon with its important mission to advance the cause of working women in Japan, collaborating with the client to generate excellent media results for its marquee 2015 event, Women in Society. First held in 2014, the event promotes ELLE's commitment to empowering and inspiring Japan women by bringing together influential spokespeople to share their stories of success.
Power of Red - launch campaign of Estee Lauder's recurring product Nutritious Vitality8 aiming to revive brand image and engage younger audience. Mazarine devised a 3-week online-to-offline campaign with staged communications via online & traditional media, social media and events that resulted in massive coverage from media, positive impression from crowds, buzz from target community.
Forever 21 entered China in 2012. Since 2O13, Red Bridge has been the PR partner of this fast fashion giant to further expand its footprint in China. This year, we were tasked to orchestrate a consumer campaign to enhance brand awareness and affinity and drum up the opening of its new Shanghai Huaihai store.
The NBA Store in the Philippines is the largest store outside of the United States and the first NBA Store in Southeast Asia. Since its launch on December 6, 2014, the NBA Store has brought the game closer to Filipino fans by offering the country's widest range of NBA merchandise and apparel from all 30 NBA teams as well as offering a host of interactive features for visitors to enjoy.
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands marked the completion of a three-year long luxury retail remix and renovation with 'Discover', an event to cement the mall as a top-of-mind destination for luxury seekers. Led by the Retail Marketing and PR teams, the event took four months to conceive. On 14 April 2015, more than 500 guests witnessed the transformation of the mall through a carnival-themed.
Faced with stiff competition from rival brands, Glenfiddich needed to maximize its resources through targeted events to appeal and cultivate brand advocates. With this, we decided to leverage and marry Glenfiddich's rich history in whisky making with its pioneering spirit by providing people with an opportunity to experience a "visit" to the Glendiffich's distillery.
This case shows how a cultural insight helped Singapore's underappreciated national athletic team win the support of a highly demanding public. Team Singapore repositioned the public's overwhelming criticism towards the team into the athletes' greatest source of motivation and ambition- a cultural trait that every Singaporean respected. Support for Team Singapore quadrupled after the campaign.
To launch our Rugby World Cup (RWC) coverage, FOX SPORTS (FS) staged a World Record (WR) attempt for the largest scrum before the Bledisloe Cup match (Aug 8). Over 1200 fans wearing FS apparel took part to help break the record held by rivals and RWC hosts, England. The campaign secured mass media including global TV network coverage, reaching over 20million people.
Back after 22 years and a key milestone in Singapore's 50th Anniversary celebrations, the 28th SEA Games had to be extraordinary. SINGSOC and its agency launched a communications programme comprising storytelling, digital and community engagement initiatives to engage all segments of the community. The Games were seen as a shining star garnering media coverage of of close to $80 million.
Singapore was hosting the SEA Games for the first time in 22 years, when the nation was also celebrating its golden jubilee. We had to design an event that would enable Singaporeans to connect with the Games – to take pride and ownership as well as to participate in a meaningful way. Manifested in positive anticipation and news, filled venues, high sponsorship and support for national athletes.
The Hot Shots campaign made kids tennis larger than life, 'fun' and 'cool' again. We created desire for an individually played sport that often gets forgotten amidst the waves of high energy team sports such as soccer and basketball. Through our communications, we have to date delivered a 33% year on year increase in registrations for the program.
7 Letters is a Singapore cinematic phenomenon where for the first time, the public lobbied the various authorities and theatres to create additional screenings for a made-in-Singapore film. The quality of the film, matched by smart integrated communications and outreach, combined to re-ignite awareness of, support for, and pride in Singapore's filmmaking community.
The Holland Village was the hub of a multi-venue festival. Being an event that celebrated the long-standing relationship between India and Holland, it hosted Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and 50 other delegates from Holland. Indo-Dutch activities spread across innovation, sport, music, art and food. Eventually 10,000 people experienced Holland across three days, in their very own backyard!
Marina Bay Sands was the premier sponsor of the inaugural Asia's Got Talent (AGT) that aired across 18 Asian countries. Discussions for the project began Dec 2014; the competition ran between March & May of 2015. A team of 8 from Marina Bay Sands Visual Media and Communications spearheaded event coverage on property, contributing to a PR value of coverage worth S$92.58 million.
How do you promote a Hollywood inspired gaming resort destination to Asia's biggest consumer market where promotion of gambling is strictly prohibited? You make a Hollywood movie! 'The Audition' was a special short film, commissioned by Melco Crown Entertainment, starring four of the Hollywood's biggest stars, set in casinos in Asia. So, by leveraging the film, we promoted the gaming destination!
Over 2 weekends from 25 April to 3 May 2015, National Gallery Singapore opened its doors to give members of the public and media a preview of the restored City Hall and former Supreme Court buildings. A total of 72 tours were attended by over 1,500 guests, more than 400 of whom were members of the public who had won passes via our social media contests.
This campaign took a local scientific research program and turned it into a global research initiative to understand the decline of honey bee populations and protect global food security. There is a direct correlation between the communication activities, and the subsequent development of the Initiative, with significant impact in brand recognition, issue awareness and business development.
Ashoka University needed to secure 1,000 student applications for its inaugural batch by overcoming perceptual challenges around liberal arts and private universities. Also, to make operations sustainable, the Ashoka team had to raise USD 32 million from philanthropic contributions. Using PR alone, the campaign helped secure 2,526 student applications and raise USD 45.4 million.
Education New Zealand sought to engage Chinese students through a great campaign. We partnered with a cartoonist to create a portrait of NZ education through the eyes of a young fictitious girl. China's top education-focused online media helped develop a rich story line, producing content driving interest in the client's target audience and impacting preference for studying in New Zealand.
USQ has over 28,000 students from over 90 countries, 70% of which study online. USQ prides itself on its ability to facilitate engagement and advocacy on social media, and has been nationally and internationally recognised for this work. The USQ Social Hub was developed to improve the University's ability to engage with students online and to share advice from students, alumni and guests.
In order to leverage New Zealand's leading role as Middle-earth; the location of The Hobbit Trilogy, Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) executed a communications campaign to coordinate with the premiere of the final film. Developed in partnership with the film makers and an airline, the work successfully lifted awareness for travel to New Zealand.
We aimed to create awareness of AccorHotels (AH) among Thai consumers & drive sales through a video promoted online and offline. The video presented a dynamic, emotional guest story that drove viewer engagement. As of 12 Oct, the video has amassed nearly 1.9 M views & over 1.5 M engagements on social media, & direct revenues for an annual tactical offer have increased 200% YOY.
Havas Worldwide Siren created an experiential and engaging campaign launch of Air France's La Première (first class) suite, allowing Air France to stand out amongst the intense competition in the luxury air travel segment. What better way to simulate the experience than by recreating the La Première's "France is in the Air" at 165 metres in the air at the Singapore Flyer.
Originally conceived to help attract visitors to Sydney in winter, Vivid Sydney has grown to become the world's largest festival of light, music and ideas. In 2015, the PR campaign aimed to attract more visitors, create awareness of the festival's geographic expansion across Sydney and showcase Sydney to the international media. More than 1.7 million people attended in 2015.
Vinacafé Cup Of Love is an insightful campaign of a local heritage soluble coffee brand empowering half a million Vietnamese youth to overcome the awkwardness to speak out love to their elder on Lunar New Year occasion, helping the brand strengthen the bond with current elder consumers & also reach out for the young consumers. The campaign's a huge success, becoming Vietnam's top 5 Tet campaigns.
California Walnuts sought to make an impact with the Chinese parent/child demographic – a fiercely competitive space for food brands. Using scientific research on the benefits of walnuts for brain health, the brand successfully fostered emotional engagement with this target group using a website and social media in support of Chinese students preparing for the all-important college entry exam.
China's youth are driving the drinks business, but are fussy about engaging brands. To captivate this audience, Mizone asked college students to ideate a marketing campaign for their peers. The resulting idea, Procrastination Killer, was an immediate success. From campus events to an online game to social media interaction, Mizone successfully boosted its image and fueled a 45% spike in sales.
V licensed the Jono & Ben brand, putting the talent and show livery on the product. A concept was devised that not only incorporated V on the TV/radio shows, but also tied V into the very core of the show. Sales of the limited edition product eclipsed all of V Energy's previous promotions and drove substantial growth for V, as well as the energy drink category value in New Zealand.
Marina Bay Sands' 3rd edition of its annual food and wine fair, Epicurean Market, was held between 14 to 16 Aug 2015. The Communications team including PR, Social and Visual media worked with the F&B team to generate media buzz, making it one of the most talked-about gourmet food events of the year. The event attracted 15,000 visitors, generating media coverage worth S$7.5million.
The Pakpak Bharat Regency in North Sumatera is a key forested area faced with a great loss of biodiversity and poor crops productivity today. Farmers need new farming practices to respond to this and adoption of the SALP model improves conditions without compromising critical ecosystems. The campaign contributed to sustainable development goals achievement by securing farmers' buy-in of the model.
RBS Foundation – the non-profit arm of Royal Bank of Scotland N.V. – is a leader in ecological conservation efforts in India. However, pre-2014, despite the stellar work, its contribution was appreciated by direct beneficiaries only. This case study outlines the efforts undertaken by the PR consultancy to support RBS Foundation's work towards ecological conservation and sustainable livelihoods.
APCO helped raise awareness of The Rockefeller Foundation pioneered Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) and its thought leaders among a wide variety of audiences at the high-level Urban Resilience Summit hosted in Singapore. The event required coordination across markets to obtain wide ranging media coverage of ACCCRN and other Rockefeller Foundation projects.
Access Denied played a major role in securing election promises for a railway line to be extended to the booming suburb of Mernda and for access ramps to be built on the Hume Freeway at O'Herns Road in Epping North. Without the campaign, Mernda residents would have to wait until 2032 for the arrival of the rail and Epping North residents would be choked in traffic congestion until 2046.
Invest Hong Kong, a department of the Hong Kong government, aimed to attract foreign investment to Hong Kong. However, making Hong Kong attractive when the Occupy Central movement overtook the SAR was a huge challenge. InvestHK's PR campaign during Occupy successfully raised awareness of Hong Kong as a leading hub for setting up a business in Asia.
Between 21-31 October 2015, the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) Athletics World Championships was held in Qatar and the Middle East for the first time in history. We stripped back communications to allow the athletes to build anticipation and smash preconceptions.
Home is where the heart is. In a significant milestone of Singapore's nation-building journey, SG Heart Map is Singapore's first ever crowd-sourced map created with Singaporeans' special memories of places. From our Prime Minister, to CEOs, to young couples who met, married and bought their first home, Singaporeans openly shared, and found a renewed connection with this place we call home.
Title: Youth Corps Singapore - "Have Better Ambitions"
Youth Corps Singapore is a newly established institution that supports young Singaporeans who are keen to serve the community. A multi-faceted integrated campaign running across print, digital, outdoor and activation was developed to encourage youth to have bigger ambitions and help them realise that they have the power to create a bigger impact in the world.
Cannings Purple formed the Gold Royalties Response Group to campaign against a proposed increase to the gold royalty rate in Western Australia. #heartofgold is the first integrated government relations campaign to fully utilise social media in WA. The intense campaign provided a unified voice for the gold industry in WA and played a critical role in influencing a Government decision.
The Global Market Sentiment Survey (GMSS) is a global survey conducted by CFA Institute annually since 2012. It is an engagement tool to solicit its views from its members worldwide on the global capital market. The survey findings and industry insights are shared with the media and industry stakeholders to build CFA Institutes' thought leadership in shaping a better financial industry.
To advocate IP rights internationally Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC), was established as an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. SPAG Asia has undertaken an advocacy campaign on IP issues in focus countries for the U.S.A; India, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. This included the launch of the second and the third edition of the GIPC IP Index which is now a trusted tool.
FTI Consulting worked as a pro-bono partner for the now annual Out on the Street (OOTS) Summit in Hong Kong. Operated by Out Leadership, OOTS is the first global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) leadership organization for the financial industry, by the financial industry. We were engaged to devise and implement a targeted campaign aimed at addressing social stigma related to LGBT.
Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) is a public charitable trust that was set up to undertake one of India's largest pioneering cluster redevelopment project but was misunderstood and resisted by some stakeholders. To turn around the negative perception, the campaign focused on highlighting the goodwill and being fully transparent in communications. It achieved a 17% increase in tenant approval.
Genesis Foundation, a not-for-profit, raises funds for the treatment of critically ill under-privileged children. The idea was to scale up fundraising so that it could support 50% more children than it did, by engaging with high net-worth individuals (HNI). Thus was born Music for a Cause, an integrated communication campaign with a series of unique, participative musical events to involve the HNI.
Following the Nepal earthquakes on 25 April & 12 May, 2015, Catholic Relief Services' Asia communications team secured earned media & created content for US audiences. The goal, in addition to keeping constituents updated during an evolving response, was to cultivate donations from private & institutional supporters. The resultant effort helped to raise $19 million (USD) for earthquake recovery.
To enhance awareness of stakeholders about its brand promise "Opening MindsShaping the Future", The Hong Kong Polytechnic University launched a brand campaign via mini-website, videos, social media, online advertising, YouTube, publications and other means. Positive responses and statistics collected show that the campaign effectively raises the brand awareness and enhances the University image.
Run For Hope (RFH), a run which raises awareness for cancer research, became Singapore's largest cancer-related run with 11,000 runners in 2014. It had 40% more participants than other similar runs. The run stood out among 100 running events by creating a personal "I Run For" connection - focus on survivor stories, involving celebrity ambassadors for the first time, and use of social media.
Save the Children's (STC) previous efforts to promote Inclusive Education for children had hardly made any impact in China. By using videos, proactive social media engagement and working with Chinese digital influencers, the agency helped STC raise much needed awareness on the issue, with 10 million social media impressions generated on social media within 3 months on a very limited budget.
YES! i am the CHANGE (YIAC) is a mindset transformation program to promote responsible youth citizenship Youth receive a platform to make short films on social causes that form invaluable communication resources for NGOs & the transformative social filmmaking process inspires them to emerge as Changemakers YIAC became World's Largest Social Film Movement in 2015 with 500,000 participants pan-India.
Obsolescence is nothing new to Technology decision makers. However, the current pace of change means many IT leaders are struggling to keep up. More than 50% of employees in Asia bring their own devices and services to work, increasing risk and complexity. As the Windows Server 2003 deadline for end of support in July 2015 neared, we embarked on a campaign to address their need to modernize.
A multi-market campaign aimed to educate and engage motorists across eight markets in Asia to become more fuel efficient, by identifying local common misconceptions around fuel efficient driving behaviour through research and creating rich and creative content that help them save fuel.The campaign achieved a return of investment of 690% with 254 pieces of coverage and 153 social posts.
Tech Mahindra has always operated in area of wellness. Over the years our offerings and solutions have ensured wellness of business but as we established a larger connect with the eco-system. We felt the need to evolve from well of business to wellness of being and therefore Wellness before Business is our mantra impacting three levels: Customers Colleagues and Citizens.
Under the banner "Heading to Hospital - Plan your Trip", a major PR campaign was launched to communicate new traffic flows and parking at Christchurch Hospital after construction began on a new Acute Services building. The campaign was very successful, with positive media coverage. Over 11,000 patients and visitors used the new Park & Ride in the first 24 days; over 180,000 to date.
GE Capital's Australia and New Zealand consumer lending business was sold in March '15. An internal communication campaign took employees on a journey toward a rebranded and reinvigorated business: Latitude Financial Services, launching Nov '15. Employees were at the centre of a strategy to move beyond GE Capital, preserving the best of the business, while embracing a dynamic new business model.
Competition is fierce, for both business and talent. PwC Singapore wants to bring out the best of each individual to create better outcomes for our people, businesses and the community. Through our internal and external outreach program, we reached over 1500 staff, engaged 4825 users social media on social media and had over 15 pieces of media coverage.
Prior to 2014, despite being India's largest and oldest commercial bank with a 200-year-old history, State Bank of India had been suffering from a lack of youth connect. SBI realised it was critical to correct this anomaly as its future business growth depended on young borrowers. The PR campaign helped to connect with the youth, grow its customer base & establish SBI as a new-age banking leader.
Westpac Group's Corporate Communication team leveraged International Women's Day (IWD) 2015 to reinforce our commitment to achieving gender equity, transforming IWD into a Group-wide, month-long celebration. We adopted a strong internal focus to spotlight our leadership target and broaden the conversation about gender equity, resulting in increased awareness and greater engagement with employees.
CBRE was challenged with a series of office moves and transitions to Activity Based Working (ABW) in APAC. The transition was a success due a progressive change management communication program to educate and support staff, which spurred a revolution in staff mindsets and resulted in a more collaborative high-performance culture, and a collective realization of the maximum benefits of ABW.
To engage their 11,000 employees, METRO China Cash & Carry, a major wholesale company, revolutionized its internal communications platform to meet this goal. On the company's 50th global anniversary, METRO China launched an internal social media campaign covering 82 sites in 56 cities with an innovative TV broadcast channel to supplement traditional communications platforms.
UBS was planning the relaunch of the brand in late 2015 and we wanted to ensure that employees were not only informed of the launch but were an integral part of the journey leading up to it. While the rollout was global the regional and local activation was key to getting traction with employees.
A month long employee benefits campaign highlighted the great things available to Westpac employees, just by virtue of working here and increased employee engagement and advocacy. Our goal was to generate significantly higher employee awareness and interest in non-financial benefits (such as discounts for healthcare, insurance and mobile phone plans) and create a sense of fun at work.
The agency has managed the publicity of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon(SCKLM) since 2011.The Marathon in Malaysia attracts 35,000 runners from around the world. This year, the race faced two key crises, an unpopular date change and event cancellation due to haze in Kuala Lumpur. Success came in the form of positive sentiments and strong support from its main stakeholders,the running community.
The crisis triggered by a Meme which campaigned by Indosat and evoked negative responses from local community. The Meme was considered as an insult to them and create negative weather in social and mainstream media as well as in the operating field. Having this situation, Indosat then conducted activities to call in the sympathy like CSR, apologetic ad, press releases, and stakeholder approach.
Establishing itself as the ultimate icon of music in Pakistan, Coke Studio progressed to launch Coke Studio TV - the first time ever brand owned channel aimed at providing 24/7 original music content to Pakistani teens. The channel was a newsworthy execution creating massive buzz across the industry and reaching millions of viewers during its initial launch weeks.
Arcadis needed to reach bloggers and influencers if it was to build a strong reputation in construction. However, it used complicated language to describe its business: "The leading global natural and built asset design and consultancy firm." This phrase is vague and seen as jargon by people outside the industry. Arcadis needed a strategy to boost awareness and understanding in HK and Asia.
Landmark Fakespeare campaign was conceptualized on the basis of an anonymous online, light-hearted survey to identify India's "Fakespeares" – those who flaunt highbrow literature without actually reading it. Fakespeare truly touched a sweet spot within the Indian psyche.Discussions ranged from the best places to practice the ancient art of 'trick lit,' to how to spot a faker.
The local no.1 fish sauce brand, Nam Ngu, wants to lift up their brand preference with Mom targets by recognizing the best care of Moms for their children through heart made meals, which the brand is a part of, on a very special occassion, University Entrance Exam. 2,4 million youtube views,150 earned PR articles, 30% brand preference lift up, 2% market incremental share are the campaign result.
Bosch Power Tools was missing out on the interaction in needed with its core audience – the tradesmen and women working on China's construction sites. To target this hard to reach group, we gave them the chance to develop their trade through an online and offline competition promoted via mobile and social media. The results? A database of 40,000 registered users and an ROI of over 1700%.
We created a user-friendly, online platform for consumers geared towards learning to take better photographs through networking with other Sony Alpha owners. As of July 2014 we have 11000+ registered users registered users out of which 8528 users are alpha owners. Average numbers of registrations have increased from 157 to 901 which is 473% approx. increase after the launch of the campaign.
For the first time in million of years, dinosaurs return to the Middle East, at the world's largest indoor theme park. Despite being escorted by Dubai police, one dinosaur was reported missing as the caravan roared through Dubai. A hunt to capture the dinosaur was on. Anyone spotting it was requested to report their sighting on social media using the hashtag #SpotTheDino. The campaign went viral.
With the launch of Squeezy, its economy sized handwash, Dettol India not only strengthened its germ protection equity but also gained market share against its key competitor Lifebuoy. By following an interjection based strategy & making children champions of the healthy habit of washing hands before eating, it managed to turnaround Dettol's stature in hand hygiene space arresting a 2year decline.
In 2014, AXE underwent repositioning from a juvenile to a sophisticated brand. It drove AXE to 10% growth but it still needed to address its low brand penetration at 3.2%.To drive trial, 2 barriers needed to be addressed: AXE fragrance was overpowering & it needed to build credibility as a sophisticated fragrance. In 2015, AXE Black was launched & activated through the AXE Black Pop up Bar Series.
DUTCH LADY ran a six-month integrated re-launch program to increase market share in Hong Kong through PR, digital, advertising, trade promotions and channel expansion. Adopting an emotional approach, it highlighted Dutch dairy expertise in providing nutritious and quality milk beverages that build strong families, resulting in a 70% sales increase to rank second in the market.
2015 saw the 5th annual launch of MasterCard's Global Destination Index, which tracks visitor numbers and spend to 132 cities. Media interest had been declining and results were static so we focused on Asia Pacific (AP) and the impact of Chinese tourism - a hot topic. As a result of our strategy and tactical program, coverage reached 138.6mln people in AP, more than double the previous year.
As part of the continued evolution of the firm, UBS decided to relaunch its brand in 2015, reflecting the successful transformation of the business to better serve clients, reduce risk, deliver a more sustainable performance and enhance shareholder returns.
Despite knowing that the everyday activities they do are damaging, Filipinas continue to do it because it makes them feel beautiful. As the No.1 in Damage Care, Dove took on the challenge by inviting every Filipina to Go Play with her Hair as Dove repairs damage in just 1 minute. With this campaign, Filipinas can now play with their hair without the guilt because Dove will take care of the damage.
PwC wanted to revamp their Graduate Recruitment in Hong Kong and China to increase numbers and widen the talent pool. Key outcomes included a refreshed People Value Proposition, visual identity, campus talk structure, social media strategy, a full website refresh including new content and design. Results indicated an overall increase in applications, with specific highlights in Consulting.
The Savvy & Successful (SnS) banner was conceptualized as: a)	the SnS Campaign to increase female employee engagement and showcase our values which celebrate diversity internally; b)	the SnS Awards to celebrate and recognize women who are breaking stereotypes externally; c)	A platform for strong women, both employees and partners, to share their learnings and network with each other.
This campaign was conceptualized to position Indegene as a healthcare solutions provider that draws differentiation by seamlessly integrating Analytics, Tech, Operations, and Medical Expertise (ATOM). The campaign targeted employees as well as candidates giving them a powerful reason to build a next generation career on a next generation concept.
Clean Water 24 is an innovative sustainability initiative effectively mobilizing Coca-Cola China's supply chain to be part of societal disaster response system. With engaging 337 PPP partners&4000 volunteers, in past 30 months CW24 responded to 64 disasters distributing 9.1M bottlers of drinking water to 1M people impacted by disasters especially in mostly within 72 hours, golden period for rescue.
The Happiness Cycle is an initiative funded by Coca-Cola aimed at getting Australian teenagers more active. The communications have been led solely by public relations with no above-the-line support. The project has been responsible for donating over 10,000 bikes to teenagers across 33 communities which has resulted in nearly 50% of participants now exercising 1 to 5 times per week.
GE's Pink Action, a large scale public welfare campaign advocating care for breast health, is not just educating the nation about breast cancer but inspiring women to "Action". The annual campaign, in its tenth year, co-branded with Uber to give away free screening packages in four major Chinese cities.The campaign were built around creating buzz to move people to take action against breast cancer.
Philippines' largest power distributor Meralco is determined to help Filipinos constantly threatened by floods & storm surges via a disaster preparedness tool. Salba-bote is the only improvised flotation device (IFD) endorsed by rescue groups- it anchors the wearer, links family members & forms rafts. Meralco distributed 15,000 units, helping 60,000 families & uplifting company's caring equity.
A city-wide education program committed to promote financial literacy in Hong Kong. This program is a collaboration work from private sector, publisher, academic as well as government bodies.
Only by inspiring youth to pursue careers in science and agriculture can we continue to advance sustainable and modern agriculture and its role in feeding a hungry planet. The 2015 Youth-Ag Summit, hosted in Australia by Bayer and the Future Farmers Network, brought together 100 young thought leaders from 33 countries to collaborate and share perspectives on the security of our food future.
This case study chronicles how the PR consultancy contributed in establishing ICICI Bank's connect with semi-urban and rural communities, especially among the youth. ICICI Bank found inspiration in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives to improve the country's human development parameters. Accordingly, it decided to include raising health awareness and encouraging financial inclusion.
For its 130th anniversary celebration, the Hong Kong Jockey Club staged the largest-ever carnival at a racecourse in Asia to inspire pride among the non-racing public and their families in its world-class achievements and community contributions by experiencing two world-record-setting spectacles and enjoying a galore of edu-tainment. 80% surveyed were able to recall anniversary key messages.
Title: Shell V-Power "The Science of Driving Excitement"
This creative media activation brought the Shell V-Power brand promise of "Performance that Excites" to life with an unprecedented driving experiment using biometric tech, big experiential and rich video content to show just how exciting driving can be. Touching 30 media from 7 markets in APAC, it generated 137 articles, reached 106 million, drove 469,316 organic video views and an ROI of 377%.
By spotlighting its proven ability to cater to athletes' needs and its experience in running an economically sustainable and successful Olympics, Beijing overcame negative public perceptions and stiff competition from Almaty, Kazakhstan to win the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, becoming the first city in history to host both Summer and Winter Olympics.
The Interface Councils are the 10 local governments that form a ring around Melbourne. They have experienced unprecedented growth during the last two decades. Unfortunately the State government has not provide funding to meet the infrastructure requirements of the local communities. This has led to significant levels of disadvantage for the residents. The Interface Councils asked Socom to help.
When land transport authorities in the Philippines conducted a sting operation against Uber vehicles in Metro Manila, APCO Worldwide provided an advocacy campaign for Uber Technologies that created shared value for government, consumers and the private sector. Six months after the sting operation, the Philippines became the first country to enact dedicated national regulations for ridesharing.
Speculative conversation around BlackBerry's falling smartphone market was creating a negative sentiment around the brand. This case study highlights how a 360-degree communication strategy has helped to shift BlackBerry's position in the Indian market and initiate conversations about it being a smartphone++ company. It proves that target driven messaging can build a positive brand image.
The State of West Bengal was being portrayed in the media largely as an investment starved state & the two previous editions of this summit yielded small investments. Our role was to limit negative press against the State Government in the 3rd edition of the summit by reaching out to stakeholders & portray a positive image to highlight the summit as the breeding ground of new business possibility.
GE's 'In India, For India' strategy focused on localization of solutions pursuing investment in high-tech manufacturing in India. It was key to partner with the Governments Make in India initiative by engaging policy makers.Due to policy paralysis in the past, GE saw decline in business leads from public sector businesses. An advocacy led communications campaign was the need of the hour.
Since inception, IndusInd Bank has been focusing on corporate & commercial banking besides catering to NRIs and HNIs. We were to recommend measures that would establish the bank as a High-street brand and establish a superior connect with retail customers. Ideas from marcom team and agency lead to the bank introducing several top-of-the-line consumer-connected products and services.
The Annual Report of the NZ Super Fund is a best practice example of transparent, comprehensive reporting by a sovereign wealth fund. It features clear explanations of complex financial information; consistent benchmarks; and a strong creative theme that illustrates the Fund's purpose. Case studies provide insights into investments and events, and an online microsite complements the full report.
The annual report HKTB publishes each year serves the purpose of communicating the HKTB's promotional strategies, exciting initiatives and information of interest and importance to the Hong Kong public, our working partners and stakeholders from around the world. To capture audience in this modern era, precise editorial content is supplemented with impactful visuals and videos.
Imprints of Healthcare is the 2014 Annual Report of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, and celebrates the successes of our patients against their disease, told through up-close interviews and photographs of them in their elements. Also in the 2014 Report are stories of our staff, reaffirming their passion in public healthcare.
Our CSR - an expression of corporate commitment to inclusive growth - is a structured, company-wide programme, anchored at Mumbai and covering the communities in the vicinity of our major establishments. Closely integrated into the Company's business model, CSR initiatives and the measurable results they achieved form part of L&T's Sustainability Report.
Started in 2012, the Youth Safe-Driving Program aims to raise young drivers' road safety awareness and promote right safe driving habits that reduce traffic injuries under the theme "Be a Responsible Young Driver".
To catch onto the digitization trend quickly, DBS Taiwan aims to introduce our comprehensive digital banking services/products that we actually have plenty of, yet to actively promote before. Hence, we launched the campaign and drive below successful business result. 647 leads and 292 new Treasures customers.
As an internal communication media to connect more than 6,000 employees in more than 60 branches around the country, Antarkita is created to advance our employees forward. It is aimed to engage and empowers interaction within the employees as the company goes to transformation. Antarkita also as the vehicle to internalized the company's core values, mission, vision and brand direction.
The China in Motion internal magazine was published on a quarterly basis since 2013. It coves the business success / breakthroughs, technology innovation, operational excellence, employee activities, CSR initiatives, marketing campaign, etc and shared with 26 locations across China.
The Journal to Magnificence is a weekly, 4-page newsletter circulated to all 9,500 employees. Aligning with company branding, Journal showcases employee features and in-depth narratives aimed at building pride amongst employees. The ongoing challenge is to optimise distribution to increase readership while achieving our sustainability goals. A Director oversees Journal with three Team Members.
Arcadis used complicated language to describe its business in Asia: "The leading global natural and built asset design and consultancy firm." This phrase is vague and seen as industry jargon by people outside the industry. If Arcadis was to build a strong reputation in construction, it needed a clear strategy to boost understanding and clear content to increase awareness in HK and Asia.
BNE magazine, published by Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), is more than a corporate marketing publication. BNE turns the spotlight on innovators, creators and adventurers, and reveals the personality of Brisbane. Since its launch, BNE's distribution has grown significantly from 4000 copies 4 x year, to 30,000 copies 6 x year distributed across the airport, nine hotels and an airline.
FSI is committed to being a global leader in responsible investment, which we focus on integrating environmental, social and governance factors into our diverse investment capabilities. The report provides insights to the progress we have made integrating principles of RI and stewardship into all of our investment processes and ownership practices.
Title: What Will You See?
The National Gallery Singapore produced a trailer as a prelude to the opening in November 2015. This trailer, titled "What Will You See?" was planned for distribution on social media, broadcast, online and out-of-home platforms.
Escorts Limited is a large Indian Engineering firm, focusing on core sectors of Agriculture, Infrastructure, Railways and Automobiles. By being absent from media the company had ceased to be top-of-the-mind, and the objective was to claim its former glory.The campaign triggered a sizable positive PR. And the effects of the campaign were also visible in the spike in the company share price.
Between April and June 2015, a core team of 9 from Visual Media worked to create a video trailer to promote Marina Bay Sands' annual gourmet food and wine fair Epicurean Market. The aim was to creatively showcase the event in a fun and playful manner. The video, produced with a US$3,000 budget, was collectively viewed over 480,000 times on YouTube and Facebook, with 2,000 likes and 1,200 shares.
For the Heroes In Our Lives is a celebration of the unsung heroes in our personal lives that have made us who we are today. In conjunction with the nation's golden jubilee 50th birthday celebration (SG50), FairPrice reinforced its mission to be Singapore's leading retailer with a social conscious, and recognized the everyday people who have contributed to building Singapore as we know it today.
To reach out to the public and raise awareness about NIE's core services, academic expertise and research, the collective efforts of all teams have garnered up to 84% of media reports that focused on NIE. More than 15,000 views in NIE on YouTube Channel and enjoys a steady stream of unique visitors daily.
The date of 16 September 1963 marks the historic union of Malaysa, North Borneo, Sarawak & Singapore which resulted in the formation of Malaysia. Since then Malaysian embrace 16 September as a date to commemorate Malaysia Day each year. To honor this special day, Sime Darby Property (a-Government Linked corporation) decided to present a special tribute to the celebration by producing a video.
ibis Hotels wanted to capture the youth travel market by using music to connect with and engage a new target audience of 18-24 year olds. A social media strategy was developed to support the new positioning and increase engagement via our existing social channels.
The Crown website transformation project was initiated with one goal in mind; to bring Crown Resorts to virtual life using 21st Century thinking and future technologies. The result is an intelligent technology framework that delivers dynamic profiling, seamless integration, and a beautiful user centric design. Leading to a 33% increase in web sessions and a 63% increase in page views.
FedEx Business Insights Hub was established to position FedEx as a business expert and partner that helps small business grow. Fresh compelling content was added regularly to the Hub including opinion pieces from FedEx executives, bylines, infographics and infovideos. To increase reach and build a community around the Hub, it was linked to FedEx LinkedIn channel and an online influencer strategy.
Skin care is one of the most searched categories online with over 3,000,000 queries a month; but there is no ONE credible local website in the market. With this, Unilever partnered with industry giants: the Philippine Dermatological Society & Google to bring SkinMatters.com.ph. Since launch, the site received 98,930,759 impressions and 700,000 visitors, owning 80% SOV in top Google search words.
Close to 20% of the University of Sydney's students come from overseas and don't get to experience the campus before their first day of class. To give students an experience of all that the University and city of Sydney have to offer we created an immersive 360° virtual tour. In less than 4 months, over 60,000 people from 175 countries have experienced the tour.
Coca-Cola China targeted to launch the new official website on May 8 and the challenge was how to choose the right Chinese name. As Coca-Cola JOURNEY is an online media platform, we decided to bring the challenge to Netizens via an online crowdsourcing campaign. Within 10 days, we received more than 7,000 creative names and there was one Chinese name stood out among the entries: 一路可口可乐.
We believe the people are the voice of our company. In light of our promise - 'People Matter, Results Count' - we've set up a program called Expert-Connect to give our business experts a podium to share, create and connect on social media. It has opened up a complete new channel with over 900 brand ambassadors who connect with clients, share expertise and do business on social networks.
The challenge was to give a non-Singaporean brand a credible voice during Singapore's 50th Jubilee, connect with Singaporeans and drive brand love. Social: reach estimated at +5 million. PR: 146 press postings worth S$1.6 Million generated about campaign. Sales: an incredible +41% sales for campaign period vs last year. Onground:100% redemption of all GWPs.
MetLife's Infinity App focused on immortalizing happiness through an engaging mobile experience. It's an innovative time capsule: users can share what's important now at a predetermined time in future, safeguarding precious memories for loved ones to relive & cherish. At its peak it ranked 7th on Google Play & 9th on iTunes in the lifestyle & social networking categories respectively (Appannie).
Hair care has been the most searched beauty topic among Filipinas with more than 75 million annual hair inquiries on Google. However, Google research shows that women aren't getting the hair care solutions they're seeking, as there is no single platform addressing this need. There is difficulty in navigating the web full of information most especially in finding the relevant content online.
Xpress Money is a leading international money transfer brand which helps millions of migrants around the world send remittances to their loved ones. Through #beyondborders, Xpress Money went about finding the reasons of the harmony between Indians and Pakistanis living in the UAE,miles away from their home countries- as generally a sense of rivalry and mutual distrust exists between them back home.


text:
Q: Reading/Getting text in an Application window using VBscript I have automated an entry process using sendkeys and .appActivate.
The script has the option of setting the delay in seconds i.e how fast sendkeys sends the keystrokes to the application window. However, the window's time interval varies.
The text "ready" is displayed on the window (when the window is ready for the next entry). i want the script to read that "Ready" to sendkeys as against the static delay of the seconds.
please, if the question is not clear, i can explain further. Thanks

A: It is in general not possible to get such detailed information on a GUI element with VBScript alone.
As you mentioned in your comments that the main reason for choosing VBScript was that you need a solution without prerequisites, I would recommend AutoIt or AutoHotKey instead. Both have exstensive scripting possibilities against guis.
To prevent the problem of prerequisites you can convert scripts of both of them to executables (it is not a real compilation but rather a package of the script and the interpreter but it has no dependencies)
For AutoHotKey you would use ahk2exe to do this, for AutoIt Aut2Exe

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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01/11/15 Political Backslapping, So Far, Has Aroused the Stock Market Bear 01/11/15 0 299 186.5 138.4% 38.6% 1 38 -18.0% 65.7 338
01/18/15 Gold, Utilities, and the Stock Market 01/16/15 0 292 190.4 136.7% 37.3% 7 39 -18.9% 66.5 338
01/25/15 February, Daily Sales, Federal Tax, and the State of the Union 01/23/15 0 291 190.8 142.3% 38.8% 1 46 -15.4% 59.4 338
02/01/15 Are You Worried? 01/30/15 0 290 191.8 138.6% 37.6% 1 47 -17.0% 59.9 338
02/08/15 Last Week's Dow Utilities Bearishness 02/06/14 1 289 194.0 142.7% 38.2% 1 47 -13.9% 60.7 338
02/15/15 Can Saudi Royalty Coexist with $20-Oil and The Others? 02/13/15 2 289 195.8 148.1% 39.3% 1 46 -13.1% 61.7 338
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03/08/15 The Short-term Indicant's Purpose and 15-Pounds of Subjective Brains 03/06/15 2 294 197.2 145.7% 38.4% 0 42 -17.5% 71.9 338
03/15/15 Public Servants Are the Enemy of the Stock Market Bull 03/13/15 0 291 199.8 145.7% 37.9% 5 42 -19.3% 72.9 338
03/22/15 Is Being Wrong for Ten Years Okay after Being Right for 14-Years? 03/20/15 3 290 200.8 153.2% 39.7% 1 44 -15.9% 72.1 338
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
In Berlin, A Boar Of A Story
By Esme Nicholson
Published November 20, 2012 at 12:07 PM PST
Some 3,000 wild boars are estimated to roam Germany's capital. This 2008 picture provided by the Berlin Forestry Commission shows a sow and her offspring that decided to make their home outside an apartment building. Recently, a wild boar attacked and injured four people in a Berlin neighborhood.
"PIGS" are a hot topic in Germany's capital.
Attend any press briefing about how German Chancellor Angela Merkel is going to solve the European debt crisis, and you're likely to hear that acronym, which stands for "Portugal, Ireland (or Italy), Greece and Spain."
But recently, pigs of an altogether different variety made headlines in Berlin.
Four people were injured — including a policeman — when a 265-pound wild boar attacked them in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg in late October. The police officer shot and killed the animal, which had been injured while crossing a busy highway.
Shocked residents said they had seen boars in the nearby park but didn't know they were dangerous. Some residents squealed on neighbors, accusing them of throwing food from their balconies to the pigs. Feeding wild boars in Berlin is illegal, and offenders face fines of up to $6,500.
Officials say attacks like this are rare, but as it turns out, wild boar roaming Berlin neighborhoods are not.
Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson / NPR
Wild boar, shown here inside an enclosure in a Berlin city park, are considered smart and quickly learn how to avoid hunters.
Thousands of wild boar have migrated to the city, where food is plentiful and hunters scarce.
Naturally Shy
Berlin forester Marc Franusch reports that joggers and dog owners in the city come across wild boars in the city's numerous parks on almost a daily basis. The swine are shy and usually run away when they see people.
But it's another story when it comes to their search for food. Some 3,000 are estimated to roam the city's green areas at night in search of insects, tearing up gardens, cemeteries and even the pitch of Berlin's professional soccer team.
Often, Berliners with perfectly manicured front lawns and vegetable gardens wake up to find little left but muddy mounds. The culprits are rarely found.
Wild pigs are very smart and quickly learn how to avoid anyone looking for them, explains 53-year-old Peter Felske, a volunteer hunter for the city. With the Berlin government's permission, he and some two-dozen other volunteers cull wild boar herds in city neighborhoods.
In Berlin, streetwise swine often tear up grassy areas in city parks, residential areas, cemeteries and stadiums as they search for food.
Felske exudes a calm confidence that he and others say is vital for hunting in urban areas, which they add is far more dangerous than in the many forests that surround the city. Felske says it's paramount to fell the boar with a single shot for the safety of passersby.
Yet getting this radio story in a single take proved impossible. NPR correspondent Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and I traveled to the far corners of the city over several days in search of roaming wild boars to record. The closest we ever got to them was the torn-up earth they left behind — like the footsteps of some urban Yeti.
We eventually found a small herd kept in a tree-filled enclosure in a park across the street from where the Charlottenburg attack occurred.
Even here, they were impossible to spot until Soraya pulled out a bread roll. Suddenly, three large, tusked boars galloped toward us at top speed.
They aggressively poked their snouts through the fence demanding to be fed. It made us glad for the tall fence.
Esme Nicholson
See stories by Esme Nicholson


Despite the growing numbers of homeschoolers, homeschooling is not a mainstream choice. As a home educator, you are already an oddball in the realm of general society. So when you find a homeschool support group of real life people who have also made this radical decision, it feels like finding a family where you fit in.
Until you start to talk to these new homeschool friends and discover that you are again an oddball even within your homeschool circle. No one else seems to hold to your homeschool philosophy or practice, and you realize just how different you really are.
No, we don't use textbooks or a boxed curriculum with a neat label.
Yes, I think Teaching Textbooks is "enough" for math.
Yes, I still read out loud to my eighth grader.
No, we don't have a rigid schedule.
Yes, this field trip is our school today. We don't go home and do workbook pages in addition.
Yes, I spend tons on art supplies and art lessons but prefer to do our own science labs at home.
I don't consider myself an unschooler. But in contrast to the homeschoolers around me, I feel like one. And a very oddball, freaky one at that.
You see, although on my blog I have hundreds of readers who appreciate my style, in real life I am a homeschool oddball.
By nature, I'm not one to be overly concerned with the perceptions of others. I'm fine with following my own path and ignoring the reactions of those around me. On my own, I'm very confident in my choices. But sitting in a homeschool group as the lone oddball can make even me question my decisions for a split second. Then I get home and see my Emma surrounded by her colored pencils, listening to an audio book, and I know that we are on the right path. Doing traditional school at home would destroy the essence of this creative child almost the same way public or private school would.
I truly believe that in education, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Einstein said that. He was a brilliant man who did poorly in rigid, academic settings.
Knowledge certainly has its place. It is a foundation upon which to creatively build and explore. But it is those with imagination who truly live and who make life better for others.
Maybe the path of imagination and creativity is a very narrow one, one that only the oddballs can walk.
Do you feel like a homeschool oddball? How do you cope when your IRL homeschool friends do not follow your same style?
I like that you can find common ground with so many people, Cindy. I am like that in many things, but homeschool seems to draw this line in the sand for me. Or maybe I am just surrounded by very traditional homeschoolers.
Nope, none of my real-life friends get how we do things. They are very much more structured, more textbookish, with tests to assess learning, etc. Which of course is fine if it works for them, but I know they mostly don't "get" why we do things the way we do. And that's ok. But I sure am thankful for the internet homeschool community, too!
Oh, how I agree! Without the Internet I'd feel so very alone.
Testing co-op throws me. That is the wildest mix of people I don't really know who homeschool differently from what I do. I'm more structured than some, and use weirder books than others. I don't follow Charlotte Mason purely, I rely a lot of SWB, my kids don't read fluently until really late, and we are all math geeks here.
I also get most of my inspiration from catalogs and internet, and not so much the state convention.
Sometimes skipping the support group meetings IS an encouraging thing to do!
As I said in my email to you, you have a very wise husband!
Julie, this short comment really hit me. Thank you. You are right. My own perspective has mellowed considerably since the early days of homeschooling as I've learned to trust the process. Thanks for reminding me of that. We are all on a journey. We all need to give grace as much as we want to receive it.
I am so blessed by the group we hang out with. I have a few core friends I see often, through a group called Grace Girls one momma started and there are so many styles in this group! One mom prefers to find as many classes for her kids as possible, 2-3 use Classical Conversations, one is very un-schoolish, one is very textbook-ish, and I homeschool my daughter very much like you do, Jimmie. Maybe we are an unusual group?
Having trouble… just wanted to add that even though our group is so different, we are so good at supporting each other and sharing ideas. Of course, all our girls love each other so much, so maybe that's the key for us?
Lynn, I am so blessed to hear that you have that support. And I think the key is that you are friends. There is a bond there that helps you overcome the differences. So happy for you!
Let's hear it for the loosely structured homeschoolers!
I used to feel like the oddball in real life homeschooling situations and often had to remind myself of the similarities as well. It got worse when my kids hit high school age because everyone was sending their teens to school or at least following a programme to gain nationally recognised qualifications to get into university. We opted to do our own thing and trust it would work! But it was hard to be the only one and to loose contact with friends (mine and the kids) because they were too busy with assignments/study/exams/school. People really questioned our decision to gamble with the kids' future which sometimes caused us to second guess ourselves. But now that the oldest two are safely in university and doing really well I can relax again.
Yes! This is precisely what I'm facing at the moment: this pressure to enroll my daughter in all these outside classes. No, that is not going to happen. Not now at least. I need to write a whole post about that!
Yes, I am definitely the oddball in our group. Since moving, I am part of a new group and just went to my first homeschool mom meeting. Without others knowing, I left in tears and cried on my way home. Yes, I am different than they are. We do things differently than a lot of the others. My husband and a dear friend, both reminded me that we are doing this for our children because of who they are. They do learn differently. It is okay if we are different. We are doing what God wants us to do.
Oh, Joy. How terrible. I am sure those other moms did not intend for you to feel so discouraged and alone. What a shame. You are not alone. And you are doing a great job to stick to your guns on what you know is best for your family.
YES! A group for homeschoolers has just formed in my town and I can totally relate to what you're sharing. We don't have a schedule either and I don't lesson plan. We've switched to just Life of Fred for math and people are stunned when they hear that. It's so nice to hear there are other oddballs out there.
Becca, you are not alone! I am so thankful that we have Internet support even if we don't have those who school like us in person. We live in a blessed time.
It is easy to see the differences as a bad thing… but if you can choose to see them as a positive, then you will be blessed! For there is no one just like you, therefore there will not be another homeschooling family who does things just like you do. I am just getting started, and have not really settled on a "style" yet, but am leaning more toward the eclectic, almost-unschooling style of living a life of learning all the time, instead of "school at home." The homeschooling moms around me are far more structured, but I am trying to remember not to compare myself to them in the homeschool realm just the same as I try not to compare myself to them as a wife, a mom, or a Christian – each of us must do what God is leading us to do in our families, and not try to copy someone else. Thanks for this post… great topic to tackle! Your blog is great, and I also follow you on Pinterest. Blessings to you and your family today!
Amy, what you've written here is so wonderful. I agree totally. Those homeschool meetings are a challenge to my resolve not to compare. But you are totally correct!
Oh, my heart breaks to think of moms leaving homeschool meetings in tears. That is just not how it should be. Road schooling sounds amazing! Who doesn't dream of living in an RV and touring America? Oh, well, maybe some don't. But I do!
Road schooling does sound like so much fun. A friend of mine did just that a couple of years ago, with her husband and 5 kids in an RV. They hit many national parks and historical sites and she blogged about it along the way. I would so love to do this! Since they've been home they've added another little girl to their family and are contemplating a similar trip to Europe!
Thank you, Karen. It's funny how many of us feel like oddballs. I guess there really are no oddballs when you look at the big picture.
Ha ha, Phyllis! I've never done a "day in the life" post because I waver between thinking our normal days are way too boring to questioning if we have a "normal" day. We do not get up early. In my view, that is one of the most blessed aspects of homeschooling. We don't have to, so why? I don't think it's a matter of discipline. We can all get up early when we want to or need to.
Our culture has labeled early risers as industrious and late risers as lazy. That's not true.
So I'm used to being the odd one out, the one who thinks/does differently. In fact, I stopped attending homeschool support group meetings for that very reason. I get all my support from my internet friends around the world!
I have never fit in anywhere…so even around other homeschoolers I rarely talk about the nuts and bolts of what we do unless they ask. This year is different though since I have one friend that is homeschooler her 8th grader and we are totally in sync. Love it.
We are still oddballs with Mr. A not officially enrolled in college yet even two years after graduation. He is still learning and exploring (mostly from behind the controls of an airplane) but I am not worried. Mr. B with his gap year schedule really bucked the norm around here but it has been the best way to do things for him.
You would fit right in with our group, well with me anyway. I couls have written this about us. I'm the oddball, however, in that I don't follow any kind of strick diet, I don't grind my own wheat, or grow my own vegatables, and my kids play video games and watch TV. I get a lot of dirty looks for those last two.
Ha ha! I'm not a fan of TV, but my daughter does enjoy computer games. You know, it's like anything. If you forbid it and make a big deal about it, it becomes a power struggle. I allow it.
I am an oddball for different reasons. There are so many families around me that appear to be more free and relaxed. I am very structured and can be rigid. I feel very much like the oddball and it can be lonely at times. Even though I'm surrounded by other hs families we are each unique.
And there's nothing wrong with being rigid if it works for you. I don't mean to criticize that way of learning. It is not what I have chosen because it's not what is best for my child's temperament and giftings. I am sorry you feel like an oddball. It is really a difficult place to be. Hugs.
I continue to be thankful for the things you post about, Jimmie. I do sometimes feel like an oddball, but the homeschool group I am part of is very diverse. When I start to feel too structured, I can think about friend A. When I feel like I am being way too loosy-goosy, I can think about friend B. Mostly, it helps when I can get enough distance to ask myself what kind of homeschooler I want to be and what kind of homeschooler my children need me to be.
We are currently in the throes of moving from a home we have lived in for ten years, so I have been feeling like such a homeschooling failure as I pack boxes and skip math lessons here and there. This post reminds me that I don't need to worry about getting behind. They have years to go – and much left to learn, as do I.
Shannon, I know all about homeschooling during a move. (And some of those moves for us were traumatic.) Really, it will be okay. It is a season. You can "catch up" for lack of a better word. Other lessons are learned. Don't add to your existing stress by worrying about how the move distracts from school. Use your energies to focus on setting up your home with your full attention. Then you can focus on homeschooling wholeheartedly.
Jimmie! Thank you for this post. You just confirmed a lot for me in this one post. A lot of my anxieties stem from being the oddball. I didn't plan it this way. I'm the only one and first one, within reasonable generations, on either side of my immediate family to homeschool and that alone can feel odd. I am exploring Teaching Textbooks and that's ALL I plan to do for math, of course we will keep in line with our living math approach with fun activities. My sons are happy and when I try to be all schooly on them, they shut down. They are creative and I often get nuggets from God just in the things they say. I know it's worth it all to have them home. This has been an eye opening week for me. I've never really had a strict schedule where we couldn't just leave it and come back later and I am glad about it. My kids have a fit when we miss nightly readings! I love a good field trip! Love the post and might just print it for the fridge.
I loved your comment, Pam! I agree with your totally about nuggets from God from our children. Wow, my Emma says some amazing things.
And to print this and put on the refrigerator! What a compliment!
Thank you for this post! Now I don't feel like I'm such an oddball myself afterall. I don't homeschool the way most people do either, and sometimes it makes me feel like I'm not doing it "right." I'm a homeschool rebel I guess you could say. I think it's interesting that though we are choosing to go against the grain by homeschooling in the first place, we still feel that pull to be on a bandwagon so we fit in.
I agree totally. Homeschooling is already a tough enough choice — to go against the grain. Then when you feel like a freak within that community, it can be a bit overwhelming.
My youngest child is now a senior in our homeschool. When I started this homeschool journey 18 years ago I bought Abeka…teacher books and everything. For my then 2nd grader. (And I have a degree in elementary ed!!!) I was so unsure of myself. If I could go back knowing what I know now I would most definitely do things more your way. I wish I had checked into Montessori methods and saved my $$. As it is, every year I've done things more and more my own way. Too bad it took 18 years to get to this point. I think it is awesome that you are comfortable in your homeschool. Looks to me like you are doing a great job!
Here's a link you might like to watch. It's long, but speaks from a creative mind that works outside the box when referring to finding creative academic excellence: the intro is 5min. and the speech begins then.
The Starry Night speech is good too. I prefer to use "eclectic". Ok, and maybe eccentric as opposed to odd (so much more colorful) LOL 😉 With much love, sisters.
One thing I suppose I do sometimes feel like the oddball about is with my son and sports. I sometimes feel I'm the only one that doesn't have her son (he's 8 yo) in some sort of weekly sport with practices and games. He's just not that interested in team sports and prefers scooters, bikes, and trampolines. He takes guitar lessons, is a Cub Scout, our co-op classes, and we have regular playdates, which is enough I think.
Thank you for all you do! I love your blog, great printables, and ideas.
I find that whenever I am asked, "what do you use?" I want to just change the subject. I just say Charlotte Mason to be simple. But we are not even fully CM! Most of my friends send their children to a college prepatory private school. So you can imagine I stay away from the subject of education as much as possible. I am glad my friend tagged me in this post. I have a major in early childhood and in elementary education. I was certified k-6. I have had people tell me, "well, you are qualified to homeschool, but most aren't." My response is that every mother is a teacher and actually my degree was based on mass education and actually hindered me the first year. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to give my children a unique education.
I do feel like an odd-all, even though I probably don't look like much of an odd-ball to most home schoolers. This is why I don't WANT to be part of a co-op or home school support group – I never seem to feel supported by other home schoolers.
As a former public school teacher, I am having to un-learn a lot of the stuff I was trained to do in the classroom setting. I want to be supported in that, but find very few people who are able to do it. Most of them are talking about standardized test scores and curricula and such. I need to hear less of that kind of talk, not more.
You know I've always got your back!
I'm an oddball everywhere! I haven't belonged to a homeschool group in over 6 years because I just don't fit. We are more relaxed homeschoolers. I'm not big on grades or testing. I'm the oddball at church because we are the only large family, (we are expecting our 8th baby in Feb.). I'm the oddball in our subdivision because were are a large homeschooling family. I'm even an oddball in my own family. I am just starting to accept the fact that taking the path God has set before my family is different than others and that's okay.
I almost cried when I started reading your post. I have been experiencing this and really struggling. Thank you for expressing my heart.
BTW I can't imagine homeschooling without your lenses and blog, they have been very helpful!
The straw that broke the camels back was my daughter's 1st grade grammar book. (I bought it b/c I was afraid she was behind!) When I referred to a concept from those pages, my daughter didn't seem to remember much of it. But she remember just fine the concepts that came up in our reading and conversations.
So I began dreaming, praying, and googling for something "different" for my children….something with a sweet flowing structure and had lots of creativity and freedom…..that organically springs from our life. This is how I found you.
I don't typically talk about what we're doing with school, but when I do, there seems to be a confusion that curriculum-less somehow means resource-less. So not true!
Thanks for pioneering the way.
I so feel "ALONE" and "DIFFERENT" from all the other homeschool families I know. I don't do co-ops, I don't give tests either, I don't use any specific curriculum, I don't follow a schedule, some days we may do 2 hours of school others 4 or 5 hours. When I listen to the other moms talk, I feel like I am doing this all wrong. I am doubting if I am giving my daughter a proper education and am failing her. She assures me she is fine and she is learning. My daughter is in 7th grade and we have only been at this about a year. We are getting ready to do our first round of testing required by the state, so I guess that will tell me how well we are really doing.


Couldn't be happier to land in Copenhagen after a long weary flight from Jakarta-Singapore-Copenhagen. Experienced a severe turbulence over the Bengal strait which caused my plane dropping some feet below. I was having a panic attack! Specially after 3 plane crash within a week (MH17, TransAsia Airways flight 222 and Air Algerie flight 5017).
OK, let's not talk about plane accidents, it makes me shudder.
If you follow my Instagram, you might have seen some of this pictures. Almost all hotels I stayed in Iceland have free wifi access in the room even in remote areas. So it was really easy for me updating and posting photos. Unlike in Paris where I stayed in Marriott Hotel and they charged me €15 for a 24 hours wifi connection. Blah.
officially I'm qualified to drive a snow mobile now!
Back to Paris again after 15 years and I'm still not impressed with the city of love. I know all Paris lovers will shoot me on the head for saying this. But while it might be beautiful, I found this city way too crowded, complicated and dirty. Maybe I'm just being a weird person but I prefer to spend my day in Reims, a pretty little city in Champagne region. It was the best decision ever, I really had a great day exploring its amazing cathedral and one of champagne factory, the Pommery which have an interesting history.
I've been sleeping a lot since I arrived in Singapore and doing a huge pile of laundry in my apartment. So I'll probably write a new post when I get home. Bis später!
it's indeed so much fun!
I heard that turbulence occurs more often over the Bay of Bengal, and I experienced it myself when I went to Sri Lanka. Anyway, seems like you had a really wonderful trip!
itu waterfall.nya buagus abiss.. jd pengen ksana buat liat sendirii. haha..
btw. di singapore tinggal dimana kak..? aku juga tinggal dsini. haha.. siapa tau bisa kopdar. haha..
baru buka blog kamu lagi nih kak.. iyaa.. aku lagi stay di singapore for dont know how many more years. haha..
aku di queenstown.. ga gt jauh dr rumah you.. hehe.. yuk. kapan2 kita cafe hopping aja dsini.. hehe.. nanti aku comment di instagram-mu yaa,, hehe..
seperti biasa, destinasimu bikin jealous aja kak. nyenengke! apalagi bisa liat paus di alamnya, bongkahan-bongkahan es yang mulai mencair di lautan, hmmmm KEWL !!


ST. LOUIS (April 2, 2012) – To kick off the 2012 season and help celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the founding of Cardinals Care, the St. Louis Cardinals are encouraging local businesses, schools and other organizations to rally behind the team and Cardinals Care by participating in Cardinals RED for Kids.
Piloted during the 2011 postseason, Cardinals RED for Kids is the team's version of an office "dress down" day in which participating organizations make a donation to Cardinals Care in exchange for the opportunity to sport their Cardinal colors around the office on Opening Day.
"This is a great way to show your support for the team and help kids in our community as we commemorate the fifteen year anniversary of Cardinals Care," said Michael Hall, Vice President of Community Relations and Executive Director of Cardinals Care. "We hope to rally everyone as we celebrate the return of baseball with our reigning World Champion St. Louis Cardinals."
To participate, local businesses and organizations can log onto cardinals.com/red and download the registration form, choosing to participate for the Cardinals' April 4 season opener or the home opener on Friday, April 13. Individual participants within the organization are then asked to pledge a modest donation to dress down and wear red in support of the Cardinals for the day. Companies can even make matching donations to support the cause. Schools are also encouraged to participate in Cardinals RED for Kids, but are not required to make a donation to get involved.
The organization that raises the most funds will receive 100 Cardinals tickets personally delivered to their office by Fredbird. Monies must be received by April 30th. Winners will be contacted directly to select their game. For more information, or to sign up for Cardinals RED for Kids, visit cardinals.com/red.
Since its inception in 1997, Cardinals Care has invested nearly $18 million in "Caring for Kids" both on and off the baseball field. Over the last 15 years, Cardinals Care has provided nearly $11 million in grants to over 800 non-profit youth organizations and built 19 youth ball fields in local disadvantaged neighborhoods. Cardinals Care also runs the innovative Redbird Rookies program, a free baseball league for kids in Missouri and Illinois who otherwise might not have the opportunity to play. In addition to providing all the uniforms, gloves, bats, balls and other equipment needed for each team, Redbird Rookies also provides extensive off-field support in the areas of health, education, mentoring and the cultural arts for each of the nearly 4,500 kids who participate in the program each year. In 2011, Cardinals Care established the Joplin Recovery Fund with over $200,000 in fan donations to help the thousands of Joplin area children recover from one of the most destructive tornadoes in American history. Fans may now make a tax-deductible donation to Cardinals Care on-line at cardinals.com/community.


Home » Archive by category "Indie Game Nights"
Posted on September 1, 2015 by Amanda Wallace in Indie Game Nights.
Hey folks! Our regular recurring Monday night event, Indie Game Night, is gong on hiatus for a brief amount of time. During this time, we're going to be re-evaluating the time of the Indie Game Night and figuring out when Indie Game Night will best suit the community.
Posted on August 11, 2015 by Amanda Wallace in Indie Game Nights.
Monday nights, 6PM, at Awesome Inc., we meet up to expose ourselves to indie games. C'mon out and look at how small game designers are pushingthe medium, or bring something we can play! Tonight we played Devastated Dreams and Screencheat.
Posted on July 27, 2015 by Amanda Wallace in Indie Game Nights.


volcube.com > Resources > Options articles > What is implied volatility?
When valuing options, a number of factors have to be taken into account. Most of these are known and there is no room for argument about their value. For example, the strike of the option relative to the price of the underlying product, has an impact on the option's value. Calls whose strike is below the underlying product price are worth more than calls whose strike is above the underlying product price. But the point is that there is no disagreement about either the strike of the option or the price of the underlying. The same is true for the expiration date of the options; this is known by everybody and is not a matter of contention.
However, there is one crucial element in the valuation of options which is not known in advance with certainty. This is the volatility level in the price of the underlying product that will be realized during the option's lifespan. Let's think about this more carefully. Suppose you are offered the option to take an umbrella out when you go for a long walk. What is this option worth? To answer that, you really need to know how likely it is to rain. With financial options, the same idea applies. If you knew with absolute certainty whether rain was going to fall, you could value the option accurately. But if you can't be sure about the likelihood of rain, then this introduces uncertainty into your valuation. With financial options, the same reasoning works. It is very unlikely that you know for certain where the price of the underlying product will be trading when the options expire. Instead, you can still value the option by estimating how volatile the price of the underlying product will be.
So, a number of factors go into valuing an option. Most of these are known with certainty and are not debatable. But a very important element of the option valuation is the expected volatility level of the underlying product price. Now we come to implied volatility. If you know the price of an option, perhaps because you can see where it is trading in a market, then you can work out the level of volatility that is being used to value the options: in other words the volatility level in the underlying that is implied by the price of the option.
Another way to see this is if you think of a rectangle whose width is known to everybody, but whose height is unknown. If there was a market trading in the area of the rectangle, then by a simple re-arrangement of the equation for the area of a rectangle, you could work out the implied height of the rectangle which is implied by the market in the area. Similarly with options; if you know their price, you can work out the volatility level being used by traders in the calculation to arrive at the value. And this is what is known as implied volatility.