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

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

 

Square Kilometre Array – the world’s biggest telescope

Issue: Ogilvy Public Relations was engaged by the Department of Innovation Industry, Science and Research (DIISR)  to get the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) public behind the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) bid to bring the world’s biggest telescope to Australia. With the bid element of the project nearing crunch time (early 2012), it was time to ramp up public awareness, build excitement and most importantly gain the public’s support.

Challenges: Ogilvy PR had to overcome several challenges in order to successfully execute the campaign objectives:

• Creating the news hook: Given there were no new bid milestones during the campaign activity period, Ogilvy PR had no timely news hook to engage media around.
• Making a complex message relevant and engaging for the public: The SKA is a technical scientific feat had previously only received interest from the science community. The radio astronomy jargon had to be broken down and the question “why should I care about a telescope?” had to be answered before gaining the support of the ‘man on the street’ for the project.
• Overcoming negative perceptions such as the project cost and environmental impact:  The SKA will cost the international community over $2 billion to build – to some, a perceived waste of tax payers’ money. Many Australians were also feeling uneasy about the way in which 3,000 dishes would change and impact the Australian landscape.

Public Relations Strategy: To create mass awareness and gain the support of the Australian public, Ogilvy PR developed a number of media opportunities to feed to the media over the three month campaign period. In order to build these opportunities, Ogilvy PR:

• Put a personal face to the story: Science commentator, author and radio presenter, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki was engaged as the campaign ambassador; a spokesperson which the Australian public could relate to and who transcends the science community, taking the story out of the “geek” world and into the everyday. Dr Karl took part in a media tour supported by additional spokespeople relevant to different audiences and media outlets

• Created a unique media experience: To provide media with new and exclusive content, Ogilvy PR coordinated a media visit to the proposed SKA site in Western Australia. TV, online and print journalists attended capturing photographs and footage of the site coupled with interviews with various key spokespeople

• Generated tailored stories that would spark interest with the different audience groups:Ogilvy PR created a number of different angles to bring to life the bid for different media. This ensured the SKA message reached everyone from school children to young males, from the working professional to the tech savvy individual.

Outcome: Ogilvy PR achieved 50 pieces of coverage, exceeding the KPIs by 185%, with a campaign reach of over 38 million Australians. Coverage highlights included: The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph, ninemsn, News.com.au, Sunday Times, The Age online, Herald Sun online and Today Tonight. The overall return on investment for the DIISR came in at 6:1. Having successfully brought the message of the SKA to the Australian public, Ogilvy PR look forward to the SKA bid announcement, due to take place in February 2012.

Pulse meets Mickey & Minnie Mouse

On May 29 2011, Disney Junior, a new multiplatform brand and channel devoted to children ages 2-7, debuted in Australia on FOXTEL and AUSTAR. The channel replaced Playhouse Disney, and consumer public relations agency, Pulse Communications, was tasked with securing positive editorial in high profile outlets to raise awareness of the launch and encourage parents and kids to tune in on launch day and beyond.

To celebrate the launch, Mickey & Minnie Mouse travelled to Australia from Disneyland for the first time in 7 years. An exclusive launch party was held at the Sydney Opera House in the week before launch, which was attended by hundreds of parents and kids. Pulse also secured a number of celebrity mums and dads to attend the launch party, including cricketer Ricky Ponting and TV star Katrina Warren.

In addition, Pulse managed a media photo call with Mickey & Minnie and excited local kids at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. Nancy Kanter, Senior Vice President for Disney Junior Worldwide was also in Australia for media interviews in the days before launch, and Pulse secured back-to-back interviews for Nancy over the course of two days.

At the conclusion of the public relations campaign, Pulse had secured positive editorial coverage on the Disney Junior launch that reached over 8 million Australians. Coverage highlights included morning TV show The Circle, and large news pieces with photos in The Australian and the Courier-Mail.  The campaign delivered a 4:1 ROI and exceeded KPIs by almost double.

On launch day, Disney Junior rated the #1 kids channel in Australia and enjoyed 44% more viewers compared with Playhouse Junior the previous Sunday.

Hot Wheels™: Small cars with a big history

From humble beginnings, to becoming the world’s biggest car manufacturer, Hot Wheels continues to be a hit for Aussie car lovers of all ages in 2011.

With more than four billion model cars sold since 1968, Hot Wheels is one of the world’s most enduring motor vehicle manufacturers. Starting with a range of just 16 cars, the Mattel Hot Wheels brand now boasts a an awesome range of over 1000 models, with an estimated 41 million adults loving and ‘driving’ Hot Wheels all over the world. In 2011, consumer public relations agency Pulse Communications, has been tasked with reigniting the passion and creating great experiences for ‘vehicle loving boys of all ages’.

To kick the year off, in January and February 2011 Hot Wheels^™ gave motorists in the key markets of Sydney and Melbourne, a blast from the past, transforming Shell service stations into fully serviced pit stops and offering fuel at the price it was in 1968, an amazing, 10c/L, the year the toy brand began manufacturing. The Fuel Your Passion public relations campaign aimed to draw on the spirit of 1968, by offering Aussies the chance to remember the ‘good old days’ when fuel was cheap and many of today’s classic cars were born.

The events held between 12-2pm at key Coles Express service stations attracted over 1200 customers and generated news coverage reaching 13,897,428 eyeballs nationwide.

To maintain this momentum, Hot Wheels introduced 3D projection to Australia for the first time when the dynamic speed racing battle lit up Sydney’s Customs House on the evening of March 10. Brought to life by international digital production agency Muse, the projection featured footage of the world’s fastest toy vehicles, shattering the building’s facade and racing into a fantasy world. Hot Wheels® fans, young and old, gathered to watch the debut live on March 10 as the iconic Twin Mill crossed the finish line and Sydney’s most historic buildings was left in a virtual pile of rubble.  Since then, almost 200,000 Aussies have clicked through to get in on the action. Check it out below!

And some fun fast facts about Hot Wheels:

• The highest price ever paid for a single Hot Wheels car is approximately $72,000, for a pink 1969 1:64-scale Volkswagen Beach Bomb, in 2000
• Placed front-to-rear, all Hot Wheels vehicles produced in the last 40 years would circle the Earth more than four times
• Some of the largest Hot Wheels collections are valued at more than $1,000,000
• To commemorate Hot Wheels 40th anniversary and the production of the four billionth Hot Wheels car, celebrity jeweller Jason of Beverly Hills created a one-of-a-kind, 1:64-scale jewel-encrusted Hot Wheels valued at $140,000

Puma and Pulse Communications invites you to meet someone fit at the Puma Love Run

Puma staged its first-ever ‘Love Run’ on the 2011 Valentine’s Day weekend, which saw almost 1500 Melbournians take to the streets in search of a Valentine’s date.

Consumer public relations agency Pulse Communications, in an integrated plan with Badjar Ogilvy Melbourne urged Melbournites to pull more than a muscle and snag themselves a date with the fun run which was followed by a love-inspired after party featuring Nova’s Jody Mcleod and hit international act, Miami Horror. The campaign, which used the strap line ‘Meet someone fit’ was created as a fun event for people who love staying fit and the challenge of exercise but are not necessarily elite runners. Bringing runners together in a social sense was key and attracted a great crowd with people connecting in a fun fitness inspired way. As part of the Love Run, participants wore different colour tees indicating if they were single or if ‘hooked up’. Runners could undertake a 4.5km ‘cheeky quicky’ run, or a longer 6.5km event.

Ambassadors Chris Judd of the Carlton Football Club and Nova DJ Ash Williams were engaged to spread the love with the event securing coverage in the Herald Sun, MX, MTR, News.com.au, B&T, FHM and News.com.au and reaching over 33 million people Australia wide

The goal for 2012 is to spread the love nationally with more love run events popping up over the nation next year and bringing more lovers together.

For more information and images, please contact Alice Coulthard at Pulse Communications 03 9684 6332 alice@pulsecom.com.au

Puma www.puma.com.au

Ogilvy PR makes Malaysia the hottest, most talked about cuisine in Australia

Ogilvy Public Relations’ consumer PR agency, Pulse Communications, helped to put Malaysian cuisine on the map when it recently launched Malaysia Kitchen Australia, transforming Sydney’s State Theatre Laneway into Australia’s first ever Malaysia Kitchen Food Market.

Malaysia Kitchen is an initiative from the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), and aims to increase Australians’ awareness of Malaysian cooking and encourage them to experience the diverse tastes of Malaysian cuisine in restaurants across the country. It follows the successful roll out of Malaysia Kitchen in London and New York.

The Malaysia Kitchen Food Market was a contemporary take on a Malaysian hawker-style market and featured long dining tables, where guests were seated to experience a tasting plate of authentic Malaysian dishes from some of Sydney’s finest Malaysian restaurants including Chinta Ria and Mamak[i].

Interest in the contemporary hawker-style event was much higher than anticipated with over 1,300 guests attending, completely selling out for both lunch and dinner sessions for the four days Malaysia Kitchen Food Market was open in February.

Over 16 million Australians heard about the campaign via a tailored PR program which included over 8o pieces of editorial coverage including The Morning Show, Sydney Morning Herald, MX and News Limited online.

A social media campaign saw key bloggers such as Helen Yee of Grab Your Fork and Jennifer Lam of Jenius encourage Sydney-siders to visit the food market, and start a discussion around Malaysia cuisine.

Matt Buchanan, Managing Director of Pulse Communications said: “We are thrilled with the success of the launch of Malaysia Kitchen Australia, and the positive response to Australia’s first Malaysian Food Market.  The popularity of the event completely surpassed our expectations and it was amazing to see how many Sydney-siders were willing to queue to experience a taste of Malaysia. The results demonstrate the strength of a truly integrated PR and social media campaign to drive consumer engagement.”

Australians can continue to engage in Malaysia Kitchen Australia, by visiting the dedicated Malaysia Kitchen website, www.malaysiakitchen.com.au which provides information on Malaysian cuisine, recipes, chef profiles and tips and events taking place across the country.

For more information and images, please contact Lyndsey Gordon at Pulse Communications on 02 8281 3839 / Lyndsey@pulsecom.com.au

• Ogilvy Public Relations www.ogilvypr.com.au
• Malaysia Kitchen www.malaysiakitchen.com.au
• MATRADE www.matrade.gov.my

Starting 2011 by ‘Shopping with a Conscience’

Issues: One of Australia’s favourite charities, The Salvation Army, relies heavily on funding from its Salvos Stores across the country. However, recent research showed a decline in foot traffic into local Salvos Stores. Reasons include a lack of awareness about Salvos Stores locations, low awareness about items for purchase, and no understanding of the importance of Salvos Stores in the local community.

Insight: Salvos Stores are full of great bargains and unique, one-off items. In addition, each time Australians shop at their local Salvos Store they’re helping the environment (by buying recycled goods) and their local community (as 100% of all proceeds from purchases made at local Salvos Stores go back to The Salvation Army to help the local community). Consumer public relations agency, Pulse Communications, knew that these key factors needed to be communicated to Australia, as it would encourage people to revisit their local Salvos Store.

Strategy: Pulse partnered with Salvos Stores as a pro bono client and created the first ever ‘Shopping with a Conscience’ month, to launch during the ‘New Years Resolution’ period to encourage Aussies to “shop local and discover local” at their local Salvos Store. To coincide with the public relations campaign, Salvos Stores launched its online store – the first charity online shopping site of its kind in the country. The online shopping story was our lead angle at launch, supported by the start of ‘Shopping with a Conscience’ month.

Challenges: The week before launch, the state of Queensland experienced its worst flooding on record. This caused loss of life, wide spread devastation and severe damage to Salvos Stores in the area. The Salvation Army was heavily involved in the relief efforts, and it was therefore important we addressed this issue in a sensitive way without compromising the ‘Shopping with a Conscience’ campaign. Therefore our messaging was: Given the recent flood disaster, it’s more important than ever that Australians ‘shop with a conscience’ this month to help us help flood affected areas and victims.

Activities: To strengthen the online message and provide a cost efficient way for the charity to communicate its announcement, Pulse conducted the press conference via an online presentation program webex, which received wide praise from the client and media. To complement the webex, Pulse held a vision call at a local Salvos Store which helped generate TV coverage. Pulse also conducted an extensive ambassador engagement program of behalf of the charity, which secured key Australian identities including two TV presenters, a fashion designer, a local mayor and a famous photographer to use for media outreach and consumer engagement in-store.

Results: Pulse generated 104 pieces of coverage (more than double the agreed KPIs) in the first week alone. Coverage highlights include Channel 9 News, Channel 7’sToday Tonight and a half page feature in one of Australia’s largest newspapers, the Daily Telegraph. The public relations campaign has allowed Salvos Stores to connect with over 10 million Australians (nearly half the population) and generated an equivalent of $263,231 worth of advertising value for the worthy cause.

Launching Australia’s first Rainforest Alliance Tea by Lipton

Brief: Assist in launching Lipton Black Tea sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms – a first for the Australian tea industry.

Challenge: Prior to the tea’s launch, Australians had a limited understanding and awareness of the Rainforest Alliance Certification™. Pulse needed to manage media skepticism and claims of “green washing” which was an issue high on the media agenda.

Insight: Australians want to make a positive contribution to sustainability and make their world a better place but any actions they undertake need to be manageable and accessible.

Creative Idea: Give Australians tips to make better, sustainable choices at home.

Campaign:  Ogilvy PR’s consumer public relations agency, Pulse Communications, released the “Sustainable Australia?” report, a 12 month study which delved into Australians attitudes and perceptions of sustainability, with support from the Rainforest Alliance.

Pulse briefed 20 key NGO and influencers in the field of sustainability on the new research and certification process. Following this, a press conference featuring key Unilever and Rainforest Alliance spokespeople was held to engage news, environment and marketing media.

Pulse invited two journalists from Notebook and the Sydney Morning Herald to visit the Lipton’s first certified tea plantation in Kericho, Kenya.

To increase longevity of the story as a new angle in phase two of the public relations campaign Pulse focused on one of the key findings from the “Sustainable Australia?” report which revealed Australians are confused about sustainability and how to take action. In order to overcome this, Pulse gave Australians the tools to act sustainably by engaging key women’s/sustainability bloggers by getting sustainability expert Katie Patrick to develop the Lipton “Make a Better Choice” pack which will included top tips for Australians to act sustainability in the home.

Outcome:

• Over 13 million people have been reached through consumer and trade media coverage including key pieces in mx, Sydney Morning Herald, metro radio 2UE and a five-page feature in Notebook
• Pulse successfully managed to overcome any “green washing” claims and negotiated two positive stories with Julian Lee, Marketing Editor of the SMH, including a key news piece in the front section of the paper
• Twenty NGOs and key influencers were engaged on the certification process and the launch announcement received wide support
• 50 pieces of consumer and trade media coverage has been secured including key pieces in metro newspapers
• Every piece of media coverage secured featured at least one key message and over 85 per cent of coverage featured two key messages around Lipton’s commitment to sourcing tea with the Rainforest Alliance
• Over 7,000 Australians engaged in the blogger micro-contest therefore becoming involved in the sustainability concept, and Lipton’s partnership with the Rainforest Alliance

Plan International: Because I am a Girl Campaign

Challenge: To assist community development NGO ; Plan International Australia in launching its third annual report; Because I am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls 2009 and raise the profile of Plan International in Australia with maximum media, corporate and consumer support.

Insight: Women make 81 percent of the charitable decisions in the home however women want an emotional connection with the charity they support.

Idea: To differentiate Plan’s Because I am a Girl campaign from any other NGO campaign, Ogilvy PR’s consumer public relations agency, Pulse Communications, coined the term ‘the gender-rational poverty cycle’.  A two- phased call to action was designed to demonstrate how breaking this cycle in developing countries by investing in girls would ultimately benefit everyone – men, women, boys and girls.

Influence:

• Pulse secured 66 pieces of  coverage including SBS TV, National 9 News, ABC Radio National , The Australian, AFR and Nova 96.9 FM
• Key features appeared in long-lead lifestyle media: Notebook, Marie Claire and Vogue
• The campaign was commended in the 2010 PRIA State Awards, Community Relations category

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