Need help creating Bokeh effect

Close zoom reduces DoF (i.e. increases boke), but increased distance from the subject also increases the DoF, which is counterproductive.
Question (I'm not familiar with the features of your camera): do you still have f/2.8 at your closest zoom?

The next trick I'd recommend you trying is therefore to try to bring the lens as close to the subject as focus will allow, and see what happens.

 

Instead of increasing your distance from the subject, which is hard sometimes, you can move your subject further from your background. So any of those three things will work.

 

Looking up the camera, it has a (relatively) small sensor. That's working against you, and you wont naturally get as strong an effect in like for like comparisons with bigger sensor cameras.

About the only time I got much background blur from small sensor cameras is if you get relatively high magnification on the subject. Of course that works better for on a piku than a 60cm...

The two main options if you want a strong effect is to either get a camera with bigger sensor (like DSLR or the changeable lens smaller cameras that are appearing) or fake it in software later.

Side note: all else being equal, the depth of field (in focus area) is about the same if you vary focal length (zoom) and your distance to subject to keep the subject the same size (same magnification). However, at longer focal lengths you see a smaller area of background so it appears more blurred.