The four-man Aussie squad – Canon’s technicians battle it out for cup title

January 13, 2012: In October 2011 four technicians from Canon Australia and New Zealand flew to Shanghai to compete for the title of Canon’s undisputed top technician at the Asia Pacific (APAC) Cup.

The APAC Cup is a Canon technician’s version of the football grand final, but instead of battling it out on the footy field, they’re troubleshooting business imaging equipment. It’s a highly skilled and very competitive series of practical and theoretical tests.

It’s also a way for Canon to provide its technicians with opportunities to build their skills by sharing ‘tricks of the trade’ with colleagues from around the world.

Howorth spotted an opportunity to get involved in the hype that surrounded the Rugby World Cup – from one international sporting event to another.

What started as an internal competition in Australia caught the imagination of the media and became one of Canon’s biggest corporate stories for 2011. In total there were 23 pieces across Australia of coverage around the APAC cup including The Today Show, Herald Sun, News.com, MX, ABC 720 Perth, 2GB Sydney, 4KQ Brisbane and Adelaide Now.

The Daily Telegraph even made this online video to accompany its story about the competition.

“Forget Cadel Evans, forget Sam Stosur and forget that guy who won the Nobel Prize for discovering what the universe was made of – Australia has a new hero.” –The Daily Telegraph

“Got a paper jam? Can’t get your printer working? Mt Gravatt based technician Daniel Leong is the man who knows how to solve your printing woes.” – Southern Star

“O’Brien is a paper jam’s worst enemy.” – The Daily Telegraph

“Newing, a specialist senior engineer with Canon, earned his spot in the four-man Aussie squad to compete at the Canon Asia Pacific Cup.” – MX

Shane McClelland, marketing and communication manager of Canon Australia, said it was great to be able to recognise the technicians for all their hard work and enthusiasm.

“We were very pleased with the coverage we received around the APAC Cup and the media hype was fantastic for the finalists – Paul O’Brien even mentioned that he was stopped on the street once and asked if he was “the Canon technician from the TV?,” said Shane.

The Canon APAC Cup showed that the right story angle can make a niche story go a long way.

Did they bring home the cup? Although the four-man Australian squad wasn’t successful in bringing home the APAC Cup – they did prove that good old Aussie sportsmanship is alive and well – on and off the footy field.

Securing funding for children’s medical research

January 17, 2012: Issue: The Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) is an independent research institute committed to research discoveries in the area of childhood disease. With its Westmead headquarters in Western Sydney, the Institute is operating at close to its capacity, limiting the scope of its research. CMRI has plans to build a larger facility to accommodate more scientists and redevelop its headquarters at a cost of approximately $133 million. In late 2010, with the NSW State election just months away, CMRI engaged P&P to secure a state government funding commitment for the redevelopment.

Challenge: With the opinion polls indicating a landslide victory for the NSW Liberal-National Opposition, many stakeholder groups were seeking to elevate their issues with the Opposition Leader, Barry O’Farrell, and his shadow ministers and candidates. P&P needed to make CMRI’s case stand out in this contested space.

Insight: Western Sydney is the home of a number of marginal electorates, as well as an expanding region and a target area for economic growth in NSW.

Creative Idea: Given the importance of Western Sydney to all political parties, we created a good opportunity for them to bolster their marginal seat campaign by funding CMRI’s redevelopment, and its economic and social benefits.

Campaign: The campaign involved first building the case for the benefits of the redevelopment, followed by direct engagement with party leaders, ministers and shadow ministers, as well as candidates in the seat of Parramatta, where the CMRI is based. Tours and the facility were held and decision-makers were taken through the redevelopment plans.

Outcome:

On 21 February, just over one month before the election was held, the Liberal-National coalition announced a $20 million funding commitment for CMRI’s redevelopment. The announcement was made by the now Premier Barry O’Farrell and the now Health Minister Jillian Skinner.

“This commitment from the NSW Liberals & Nationals is a huge boost to children’s health and medical research as well as the economic and social infrastructure of Western Sydney.”

Professor Roger Reddel, Lorimer Dods Professor and CMRI Director.

The Great Information Glut 2011

January 9, 2012: The rate at which information is being used, shared and saved in the workplace is increasing at an incredible rate. At work we’re constantly becoming more connected, using more technology and creating more digital information.

In 2009, Howorth worked with Hitachi Data Systems to develop a public relations campaign that would provide a first perspective on the ‘Information Glut’, in a report which underlined how many organisations had been choked or rendered inflexible by the sharp growth in information.

Two years on, Howorth and Hitachi Data Systems revisited the subject to analyse whether the information glut was still a growing concern for businesses in Australia and New Zealand. In order to better understand the macro economic effects of the problem, Deloitte Access Economics was also commissioned to assess the extent to which information glut was impeding business productivity, and the benefit of improved information management on performance and the broader economy.

The Great Information Glut 2011: key findings

Hitachi Data Systems commissioned an independent study conducted by AMR, which found that 40% of organisations in Australian and New Zealand are suffering from too much information, up 5% from 2009. Almost every respondent (95%) admitted they experienced some degree of glut, with a quarter reporting significant impact on organisational performance.

Analysis by Deloitte also found that information glut is affecting Australia and New Zealand’s GDP and therefore their global competitiveness – estimating mismanagement of information is costing Australia’s economy at least $3bn per year and New Zealand $400m per year.

Hitachi is calling for businesses to start acting in order to manage the growth of the glut, stressing that Australia can no longer afford to be a nation of business bystanders. This ‘information intervention’ requires organisations to take a big picture look at existing systems and strategically align information management with business imperatives.

Howorth devised a media strategy that would maximise the reach of this news, conducting a series of embargoed media briefings with business and technology media to amplify the amount of quality media coverage. Following the briefings, a general news release was distributed.

The launch of the report received significant media coverage, with more than 40 pieces of traditional print and online media coverage.

Highlights included:

• Neville Vincent, VP and general manager, was interviewed by ABC Lateline Business on launch day, outlining the key findings from the report. A six minute interview with Neville was also broadcast on Sky Business News’ Tech Report programme.
• 40+ articles appeared in titles such as AAP, News.com.au, Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, Technology Spectator, iTWire, Computerworld, Computerworld NZ, Computer Daily News, Channel News and The Channel, more than doubling 2009’s coverage.

You can download a copy of the Great Information Glut 2011 report here

Carnival Cruise Lines: Slips and Slides to a new World Record

November 30, 2011: The Issue: How to build excitement and anticipation for the world’s largest cruise line, Carnival Cruise Lines, a brand barely known in Oz? And how to whet the Aussie appetite for a very different style of cruising in a marketplace not only cynical about cruising, but which had also yet to experience the ship, Carnival Spirit, due to arrive in Sydney Harbour in a year’s time in October 2012? That was the mission of consumer public relations agency, Pulse Communications.

The Challenge: Amid a sea of cruise industry negative perceptions and myths, the Pulse team was challenged by Carnival Cruise Lines not only to build excitement for the brand, but also to promote the launch of its Thrill Slide – the world’s steepest and fastest water slide at sea.

Our Insight: To engage and excite Aussies, the Carnival Cruise Lines and Pulse teams understood they needed to bring a piece of “Aussie spirit” to the Carnival Spirit. That meant inviting Aussies to be a part of it – by naming it.

Creative Idea: The “Name the Thrill” public relations campaign was born. Pulse created a consumer experience that invited Aussies to experience the ‘thrill’ of the anticipated Carnival Thrill slide, and then invited them to name it. Building on the great Aussie tradition of the slip and slide, Pulse and Carnival created a 30 metre inflatable Slip & Slide, inviting hundreds of Aussies to attempt to break a new world record for the longest distance travelled on a slip and slide in one hour.

Campaign: The world record attempt was held at Cronulla beach, one of Carnival Cruise Lines’ target audience hotspots. Volunteers to break the record, from local Surf Life Savers to Fitness First members and local triathletes, all took part for the love of Slip & Slide and through a carefully orchestrated media campaign. Driven by a fully integrated campaign across Facebook, NOVA Sydney’s breakfast program, and traditional and social media, Aussies were
invited to get involved, break a record, enter their name the slide submission , then watch as the visual content from the day unfolded.

Outcome:

In total, approximately 1.5 million Australians were touched by the ‘Name the Thrill’ slide public relations campaign

• Over 100 local Aussies, watched by over 1,000 spectators, broke a new world record for the longest distance travelled on a slip and slide – 36.24kms in one hour (smashing the previous world record of 26kms)
• In just four days after the event, Carnival Spirit’s Facebook page saw more than 1,000 new fans, over 4,000 page views, 380 comments and likes and over 40,000 impressions of Carnival updates
• In total, over 1,600 names were entered on the Facebook page to name the Thrill Slide, exceeding KPIs seven times
• Key media coverage highlights included a call to action for Aussies to participate in the world record attempt by weather presenter, James Tobin on Weekend Sunrise (reaching 400,000), a call to action for Sydney-siders to attend the event in Sydney Morning Herald’s “what to do this weekend” pages (reaching 600,000) and TimeOut Sydney (reaching 105,000)
• Close to 9 million Australians were reached with messages about the campaign via more than 25 pieces of media coverage

DHL Export Barometer 2011

September 2, 2011: The challenge: DHL Express enlisted the Howorth B2B team to develop and execute a media strategy to release the results of the 2011 DHL Export Barometer, the annual survey into the health of the Australian export economy.

Conducted by independent researchers and supported with analysis from Tim Harcourt, Chief Economist of Austrade, the Barometer provides insights into factors impacting Australia’s exporters by conducting in depth research across range of industries including agriculture, manufacturing, mining, tourism and professional services.

Our approach: Hot topics in the Australian media in the weeks leading up to the launch of the Barometer were the negative impact that the strong dollar and online retailing were having on Australian businesses.

The Howorth team spotted an opportunity to capitalise on this by linking the Barometer findings to these topics but adding new elements to the conversation – the growth opportunities that online commerce was presenting Australian businesses and highlighting

Blockbuster bites back!

Blockbuster Australia approached Howorth in 2010 to develop a public relations campaign as part of the planned roll out of a $3.5 million brand repositioning campaign – their biggest in ten years.

Despite being wholly owned by Franchise Entertainment Group and maintaining strong business performance, Blockbuster Australia was perceived to be affected by the financial challenges faced by Blockbuster Inc in the US –fuelling misconceptions around the viability of the business domestically.

Howorth set out to:

• Address the immediate challenges resulting from the coverage of Blockbuster Inc.;
• Use the launch of the brand repositioning as a platform to generate positive stories around Blockbuster Australia’s market position and the health of the industry in Australia;
• Engage the franchisees in the brand repositioning campaign and communicate the role franchisees play in driving the success of the company.

To tackle the misconceptions resulting from the US, Howorth developed key messages around the independence of Blockbuster Australia from its US counterpart and the stability of the local business. Statements were distributed to domestic media in response to further developments in the US and media that had previously covered the issue.

Howorth recognised the importance of incorporating the franchisees in the public relations strategy as it is they who drive the business and owner operated model which makes the local industry unique. Howorth worked directly with franchisees to seek potential local media opportunities to change perceptions at a grass roots level and support local business objectives.

Finally, in preparation for the brand repositioning launch pre-briefings with top-tier media were arranged to: create buzz around the evolution of the brand; explain the rationale behind the repositioning and its role within Blockbuster’s long-term business objectives; and share Blockbuster Australia’s point-of-view on the future of the industry.

As a result of the PR launch of the brand repositioning in October 2010, the US challenges had been disassociated, the business’ health was reinforced and pre-conceived perceptions on the industry and future of the business had begun to shift.

Over the months of July to November 2010, the PR campaign reached 7,278,413 online readers, 224,089 TV viewers and radio listeners and 991,255 newspaper readers – a total of 8,493,757 Australians.  Key messages were prevalent in prominent headlines, such as:

• Blockbuster adopts social hub strategy, The Australian
• Blockbuster invests in rebranding campaign, Franchising
• Blockbuster Australia leaves bankrupt US chain’s woes behind, Dynamic Business
• Blockbuster Australia gets a makeover, Retail Biz
• Blockbuster Repositioning Campaign, Sky News

Going like Blockbusters, Australian Financial Review

National Asthma Council Australia

Challenge: More than two million Australians have asthma. Despite its prevalence, myths and misconceptions about asthma still abound and hundreds of Australians needlessly die from asthma each year. Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be managed. The National Asthma Council Australia has an ongoing need to keep asthma high on the public agenda in order to improve the life and health outcomes of people with asthma and their carers.

Insights: Asthma is of concern to all Australians. Every Australian either has the condition or they care about someone who suffers from asthma. Most Australians are therefore receptive to asthma-related messages when they appear in the mass media.

The changing nature of asthma triggers throughout the year provides a regular calendar of potential touch points to engage with, and educate, the media who in turn act as a conduit to relay timely messages to the wider community.

Campaign: Recognising the relevance and topicality of asthma, Ogilvy Public Relations Melbourne developed an ongoing media relations strategy to keep credible asthma messages in the media year round, harnessing changing seasonal triggers and providing journalists with ‘one stop’ access to Australia’s leading asthma experts.

This press office function has been undertaken by Ogilvy PR Melbourne consultants for over eight years, effectively reinforcing the Council’s position as the peak asthma body in Australia and a valuable and reliable resource for media.

Activities include health reporter liaison (consumer and medical press), development of sponsorship guidelines, media training and crisis management, as well as implementation of an annual media program designed to generate widespread grassroots awareness with angles ranging from ‘soft’ stories such as a ‘Spring Survival Guide’ for allergy sufferers and ‘Christmas Tree Asthma Trigger Alert’ to ‘hard news’ such as releasing the annual asthma death toll statistics.

The consumer media relations program is supported with an ongoing health professionals program, ensuring that health professionals who treat patients with asthma are up to date on the latest patient information and resources.

Results: Quality reporting of asthma in the consumer media keeps asthma top of mind in the community, it has reinforced the fact that we need to continue to take asthma seriously and it has increased understanding of the condition, its triggers and its management.

Media relations activities for the National Asthma Council Australia have also helped heighten political awareness of asthma and proved to be a key plank in the Council’s successful lobbying to have asthma made a National Health Priority Area.

The National Asthma Council’s press office is now the first port of call for medical journalists seeking local comment on any new asthma initiative including new research findings.

Ogilvy PR Melbourne Measure’s Up with The Department of Health and Ageing

Challenge: The Measure Up social marketing campaign aims to promote good health outcomes through the prevention and early detection of avoidable chronic diseases. The initial advertising campaign worked to raise awareness of the link between an increased waist circumference and chronic disease – but many Australians lacked the information and tools needed to help them take positive action. The challenge for Phase Two of the campaign was to provide at-risk Australians with the ‘How’ message prompting involvement and action, especially in harder to reach communities young women 20-35yrs, people in regional communities and socially disadvantaged groups.

Insight: Body image, fitness and weight are very personal subjects – lecturing is ineffective. Real inspiration needs to come from personal key influencers as well as real Aussies with real life stories in the real language spoken on the street and in the regions. By harnessing the power of grassroots communication, it is possible to engage, empower and encourage fellow Aussies to Measure Up.

Campaign: To help communicate the important ‘How’ message, Ogilvy PR Melbourne took a two phase approach: A) engaging with health practitioners and providing them with important resources to help them champion the cause with patients; and B) making the messages as accessible as possible to the target audience.

General Practitioners received an early ‘heads up’ prior to the national campaign launch via a Medical Media campaign which saw background information displayed in GP staff rooms nationally. This tactic ensured that key influencers were well briefed and able to reinforce campaign messages once the advertising campaign commenced. Support patient information resources were also provided to health practitioners with a suite of additional ‘how’ materials also developed.

To tap into the critical regional audience, Ogilvy PR Melbourne created the ‘Country Pantry’ series of ‘how to’ food and nutrition fact sheets to provide families with real tips and ideas in the language they speak at home.

Recognising that inspiring, real life stories were fundamental to encourage other Australians to take action, Ogilvy PR Melbourne produced three online videos, showcasing down to earth real life success stories, allowing a metro family, a regional family and a community group to share their inspiring stories in their own words online. Online support for the campaign grew in conjunction with the growth of the campaign and availability of new in-line support tools, which were featured on a revamped campaign website.

Results: GPs ranked the Measure Up Medical Media social marketing campaign as one of the most memorable and valuable campaigns in 2010. Research has shown high awareness for the campaign and the waist circumference message and confirmed the consultancy’s positioning of just making small changes to make a big difference. Additionally the website revamp has boosted consumer engagement and interaction allowing more real Aussies to download practical resources, such as the Country Pantry fact sheet series, share tips and inspire each other to keep their waistlines in check.

Heinz GO BEET

The Brief: Heinz launched GO BEET, a new beetroot juice, in Australia in November 2010. Beetroot has shown to be a high source of dietary nitrate, which is linked to a boost in endurance and stamina by allowing muscles to use oxygen more efficiently. With this in mind, GO BEET is a particularly beneficial product for sportspeople. Consumer public relations agency, Pulse Communications, was tasked with raising awareness and hype for this new product to lead to trial and adoption.

Ideas: Pulse Communications executed a range of sampling opportunities, events and media activities over the course of 12 months to raise maximum awareness for GO BEET, which included:

• Recruiting high profile athletes (without fee) to genuinely endorse the benefits of GO BEET as a fleet of ‘BEET Boys & Girls’
• Outreaching to media with tailored angles most relevant to them, to secure editorial coverage
• Securing sampling opportunities at popular Ocean Water Swim events
• Conducting a series of free ‘BEET Camp’ outdoor training sessions for the public to get involved and taste GO BEET for themselves
• Communicating training tips and GO BEET benefits via social media

Influence:

• Pulse Communications secured GO BEET trials with more than 30 high profile athletes, including Ian Thorpe, Stephanie Rice, Essendon FC, Jane Saville and Libby Trickett – nine of these publicly endorsed GO BEET
• Editorial coverage on GO BEET reached almost 6 million Australians
• Tens of thousands of Aussies sampled GO BEET at top-tier Ocean Water Swim events
• BEET Camps were conducted in both Sydney and Melbourne
• Views on the GO BEET Facebook page increased by 700% over the course of the campaign, with a total reach of 35,257 post views in this time

 

Don’t Be A Tosser, Bin Your Butts

Challenge: On 1 July 2007, the Victorian Government banned smoking inside licensed venues. Butt litter was expected to increase significantly unless action was taken. Cigarette litter already constituted 56% of Victoria’s litter stream. Sustainability Victoria recognised the need for a campaign to change smokers’ behaviours.

Insight: When targeting butt litter messages to smokers, the public relations campaign needed to be mindful that socially many smokers already felt persecuted. The campaign’s message couldn’t point the finger at them or lay blame. The campaign’s creative ‘Don’t be a Tosser – Bin Your Butts’, therefore used humour to capture their attention.

Following extensive research and stakeholder consultation, a campaign was developed focussing on changing smokers’ behaviour at venues identified most at risk of increased littering. Harnessing hospitality industry and local government involvement activities aimed to minimise pressure on local governments and pubs and clubs and make it easier for them to take an active role in the campaign. This included providing bin infrastructure and promoting cleanliness.

Campaign: The public relations campaign encouraged a collective approach to reducing butt litter between the smoker, licensed premises, local government and state government. Campaign toolkits were provided to pub and club owners and local government staff. An incentive scheme was introduced to encourage licensed premises to buy appropriate butt bins. Radio, bus shelter and convenience advertising and a state-wide media campaign raised awareness of the issue and kept it on the public’s agenda. ‘Butts Champs’ took to the streets handing out ‘Don’t be a Tosser’ personal ashtrays and extensive media publicity highlighted the problem and what needed to be done about it.

Results: The campaign achieved a major increase in the number of smokers binning their butts, and no increase in butt litter, demonstrating that smokers’ behaviour changed.  Butt littering behaviour fell by almost half. Independent evaluation found 73% of targeted venues actively supported the campaign and 66% of Victoria’s local governments participated in the campaign. Media publicity firmly placed the issue on the public’s agenda –212 positive electronic and print media items were achieved over four months with the majority highlighting key messages.

The public relations campaign was awarded an International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Excellence Award and a Public Relations Institute of Australia Golden Target Award in the environmental category.

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