The warehouse was transformed into five different spaces to encapsulate various features that the Optimus offers. Pulse Communications worked with Rizer Events to execute the launch.

The five rooms consisted of a tattoo parlour, featuring a girl being tattooed, this highlighted the phone’s Google Goggles App that can recognise logos and images. It then provides a Google search result based on the findings.

A comedy lounge highlighted the phone’s social networking capabilities as comedians performed and the guests Tweeted feedback and topic requests. The music room saw renowned guitarist Peter Northcote perform as guests were able to look up song lyrics with the Optimus handsets.

The party was attended by consumer, technology and lifestyle journalists, LG partners and employees. Media attendee highlights included The Sun Herald and In Style, Appliance Retailer, Madison and Rolling Stone.

In addition guests also had the chance to rub shoulders with the stars as Pulse Communications secured the attendance of a number of high profile celebrities including sports star Lauren Eagle.

Results of the campaign to date include: 32 product related reviews and a highly coveted social pages piece in a key metro publication. An ongoing review amplification program planned for August/September.

Left to right (front): Former Ford Australia President and CEO; Bill Dix, Senator Kim Carr, Victorian Premier John Brumby, Ford Australia President and CEO; Marin Burela, and Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Federal Secretary Ian Jones

Left to right (rear): Former Ford Performance Racing driver Allan Moffat and Former Ford Australia President and CEO; Sir Brian Inglis

Ford in Australia celebrated two milestones which no other Australian vehicle manufacturer has achieved–85 years of production in Australia and 50 years of the iconic Ford Falcon.

Consumer public relations agency, Pulse was tasked with creating a campaign that celebrated the longevity of Ford and in particular, Falcon by reinforcing its significance in the hearts and minds of Australians who have embraced the car for over 50 years.

Consumer public relations agency, Pulse created two events and a tailored media strategy to generate coverage around Ford’s unique anniversaries.

Firstly, a staged media photo call was held at Ford’s Broadmeadow plant in Melbourne to celebrate the anniversary of the first Falcon rolling off the production line.

Seven Falcons including the first Falcon XK in 1960 and the latest 50th anniversary model were driven off the production line by past Ford Australia presidents, long serving employees and Ford Performance Racing drivers.

The event was witnessed by Victorian Premier, John Brumby and Senator the Hon Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

All major metro TV news crews, VIC metro newspapers and radio stations attended and one-to-one interviews were held with Marin Burela, Ford Australia President and CEO.

The same evening, a gala dinner was held at the Ford Discovery Centre (Ford’s museum) in Geelong, Melbourne to celebrate Ford’s 85th anniversary of vehicle manufacturing in Australia.

Geelong is the birthplace of Ford Australia and the dinner aimed to recreate Ford’s early years by turning back the clocks to the 1920’s.

The venue was transformed into an art deco inspired evening and featured the first Ford Model T off the production line in 1925.

Nearly 200 people attended the dinner including key Geelong Football Club members to signify Ford’s 85 year partnership with the Club.

To support the events, consumer public relations agency Pulse developed a tailored media strategy to generate in-depth news and feature coverage on the history of Ford in Australia. Feature angles included profiling Ford’s long-standing employees, the economic contribution Ford has made to Australia and the history of Falcon.

Pulse created b-roll footage using archived Ford materials to visually showcase Ford’s history in Australia. In addition to being shown at the gala dinner, the footage was used as overlay by key metro TV news programs.

To date, Pulse has reached 63 million Australians via 240 pieces of positive coverage including key pieces on Channel 7 news, Sky News, a double page spread in the Herald Sun, The Australian and Australian Financial Review.

The idea was to capture the hearts and minds of Avatar fans and to make them feel as if Avatar had spread across the country. With the parameters of only nine working days from the initial concept to execution, Pulse Communications was responsible for bringing the concept to life.

A large public relations stunt was created utilising an Avatar inspired Virgin Blue Boeing 737, 20 Nova competition winners and current and former NRL bulldogs players. The lucky competition winners and Bulldog players were expertly airbrushed into the Na’vi people, complete with wigs and ear pieces, and sent on the trip of a lifetime to be a part of the biggest DVD launch in the country.

The Virgin Plane flew from Brisbane to Sydney airport to be met by four models that had been completely transformed from head to toe into Na’Vi. The four Na’Vi models posing outside the Avatar inspired plane, and inside the cockpit resulted in a fantastic photo which generated huge media attention.

The resulting media coverage reached an audience of over 25 million and created a return on investment of 20:1. Highlights included The Daily Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald Online, mX Sydney, Gold Coast Bulletin confidential, Channel 10, Fox Sports News and Nova FM.

The success of the public relations campaign was only further reinforced as AVATAR shattered industry records delivering the biggest “day one” DVD and Blu-ray sales results of any film in Australia, announced today by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE).  In just one day, TCFHE sold 360,000 combined units of AVATAR (DVD and Blu-ray) – beating all “week one” release records.

Challenge

Do you have a convict ancestor? If you did, would you know? In its first project for Australia’s leading family history website, Ancestry.com.au, public relations agency Howorth led a PR campaign to launch two new convict-based historical record collections to the public. These records (the Convict Registers of Conditional and Absolute Pardons, 1791-1846 and the New South Wales Certificates of Freedom, 1827-1867) complete the journey from arrest to release of almost one third of all convicts transported to Australia.

With more than 2.3 million criminal and convict records now available online, Ancestry.com.au made the entirety of its 15-part Australian Convicts Collection accessible for free for eight days in January 2010. With the door to the past wide open, Howorth had to convince the public to come knocking.

Insight

Howorth constructed a public relations campaign, tied into Australia Day, to get consumers thinking about how their families originally made it to the Lucky Country, before encouraging them to dig down into their own pasts.

Creative idea, relentless execution

Howorth knew it needed a high-profile partner for the campaign launch, so secured a national News Limited exclusive for Australia Day itself, which resulted in coverage in all news.com.au sites across Australia. Metropolitan radio talk back programs were also targeted with embargoed material so they could incorporate the story into the weekly plan. Following this initial coverage burst, the release was then issued to all other media.

Outcomes

The response locally for the convict collection was overwhelming, with more than 200 pieces of coverage, including breaking news online across Fairfax and news.com.au, and radio news bulletins. 20 radio interviews were conducted across commercial, AM and community radio, from the ABC to 2GB, with some stations syndicating the interviews across their networks and regions to raise coverage levels even further. Print coverage included major pieces in the Hobart Mercury, Canberra Times and Sunday Territorian. Through social media engagement, public relations agency Howorth also generated 21 ‘Tweets’ on the open Convict Collection indexes, with some of the influential Twitter users having over 1000 followers.

As a result of the PR campaign, Ancestry.com.au received their highest ever unique visitors for a single day on Australia Day (25^th January 2010 ).

Gratifyingly, the client was thrilled with the results; “The Howorth team achieved results well beyond our expectations. This is a great start to our relationship,” said Debra Chesterton, Managing Director, Ancestry.com.au.

Challenge

After several years losing market share in Australia, public relations agency Howorth successfully orchestrated Motorola’s comeback, with the launch of its new range of Android powered smart-phone devices. Howorth’s objectives? Simple – create mass-market interest across consumer and technology media, reaching out to consumers looking for a new smart-phone.

Insight

Differentiating a phone from the pack can be difficult, but Motorola’s new Android range of smart-phones held one key ingredient , MOTOBLUR – the first mobile experience to deliver your social life straight to your mobile phone, streaming conversations, friends and widgets right into your handset to provide a never-ending flow of updates.

We understood that the media would need to try out the phone themselves to get the full effect of the MOTOBLUR package, so they could appreciate first-hand how it could link their lives via the web. As a result, Howorth’s public relations strategy was designed to ensure media had maximum exposure to the MOTOBLUR experience – from one-on-one demos and the opportunity to take handsets for review, to a fully immersive and interactive launch.

Creative idea, relentless execution

Rebuilding a brand and restoring consumer confidence is no small feat. Public relations agency Howorth held 12 one to one briefings and handset demonstrations in the lead-up to the event, with outlets handpicked to ensure a wide depth of coverage on launch day. Media were enticed to explore MOTOBLUR before its official launch included the Daily Telegraph, Sydney Morning Herald, Channel 7, Channel 9, T3, Grazia and Women’s Health.

The focus then switched to the event itself. Taking over the Cargo Hall at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, MOTOBLUR’s features were unveiled through stunning visuals presented on a mammoth concave screen: embracing our presenters to showcase social streaming as life in motion, a network surrounding us in all that we do.

Outcomes

On the day of launch, Motorola and Optus spokespeople conducted one to one media briefings at the event with key influencers The Australian, iTNews and iTWire.

These interviews, plus our strategic warm-up prior to the event, generated more than 100 pieces of coverage across metropolitan, consumer, technology and business media (print, broadcast and online). Highlights to date include a demonstration on Channel 9’s Today show, the front page of Australian T3, and pick-up across a range of specialist outlets like Gizmodo, ITnews.com.au, Good Gear Guide, Zoo Weekly, Smarthouse, iTWire.com.au, CNET Australia and GadgetGuy.com.au.

Challenge

Public relations agency Howorth began working with Australian family-owned Mac accessories distributor Try & Byte in November last year, briefed to raise awareness of their website via positive media relations.

Creative idea, relentless execution

A distributor of new consumer products aimed at Mac users and general consumers, www.try&byte.com.au regularly releases innovative technology to its customers.

With a small budget, we needed to find effective ways to pitch the latest Try & Byte accessories and products into consumer and consumer technology media. We therefore focused on the latest five products available on the site, selecting highly targeted media for reviews and profiles.

Outcomes

Our public relations campaign has so far reached over 4.5 million Australians through media coverage: punching well above the investment. Coverage has included a cover story in Macworld and articles now running into the double figures across tier one targets like The West Australian, The Courier Mail, Gizmodo, Cybershack, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday Herald Sun, Girlfriend and Home Entertainment Magazine.

Developing the core communications for the new Australian Biosecurity Intelligence Network

Issue: In February 2009, public affairs agency Parker & Partners was engaged to develop start up communications for a new Australian Government funded ‘world first’ initiative – a nationally networked framework to connect Australia’s biosecurity community.

Working from a Government investment plan and with a newly established Board and team, Parker & Partners created a message platform that describes the essence of a complex concept in simple terms to engage and secure ‘buy in’ of stakeholders for the first time. Parker & Partners developed a comprehensive three year communications strategy and implementation plan, supported by a website, collateral, expansive stakeholder database and engagement plan, media strategy and outreach, and an official launch. In addition to these foundation documents, Parker & Partners has provided the ABIN team with daily strategic counsel and advice on stakeholder engagement and issues management over the past 12 months, as well as conducting media training and preparation for a significant benchmarking research study of the biosecurity community.

Challenge: With a complex concept and stakeholders involving more than 60 agencies, researchers and operational staff across all levels of government and across the diverse sector of human, animal, plant, aquatic and wildlife health, and an extremely low level of awareness of this new initiative, the challenges were significant.

Insight: Our public affairs team’s strategic approach was based on BIO – Building, Informing and Operationalising, focussed around building a story that informs and grows the supporter base and operationalises ABIN into the everyday culture and activity of the biosecurity community.

The logo developed by our design agency reflects the interaction and flow of information between stakeholders within the biosecurity community, strength and dependability, and the integrity and professionalism of the sector.

Parker & Partners distilled the essence of ABIN into five key words that resonate with the biosecurity community: CONNECT, SHARE, USE, CREATE AND GENERATE. Those terms became the cornerstone of all ABIN communications beginning with the simple message that ABIN CONNECTS people across the biosecurity sector to SHARE, CREATE and USE data and tools to GENERATE biosecurity intelligence, and flowing through to ABINs vision and mission and all communications materials.

Campaign: On 16 March, after 13 months of groundwork, Parker & Partners executed a national launch of ABIN at a well-attended event in Parliament House with key stakeholders and the Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry, The Hon Richard Marles MP and key note speaker Mr Roger Beale AO, supported by media outreach.

Outcome: Parker & Partners has become a trusted adviser to the ABIN team. That trust attests to the quality and timeliness of our public affairs agency’s advice and client service, our professional approach and reliability, and our strategic communications and stakeholder engagement expertise.

The findings of the BENEFUL Fetching Time Report only highlight that pet dogs are quickly becoming more than just an animal in the eyes of dog-loving Aussies. Perhaps quite surprisingly, findings show that double the amount of male respondents (11%), compared to female respondents (5%), say that they consider their dog as a good friend. In contrast, mums’ definitely the word for female Aussie dog owners, as almost double the number of women (5%), compared to men (3%) are adding to their brood with a child of the paw variety, saying they consider their dog as a child.

“As the research indicates, dogs are increasingly considered as more than just a pet. The BENEFUL Bark in the Park™ events provide the perfect bonding opportunity for dog owners and their dogs” comments Nicole Battistessa, Head of Marketing, Purina.

The 2010 campaign was launched in Melbourne on Saturday 20 February, followed successfully by Sydney on Saturday 13 March, and ended with the inaugural Brisbane event on Saturday 27 March. Over 14,000 dogs and their owners enjoyed their quality time together at the three events, partaking in complimentary activities such as dog washing and grooming at the Healthy Radiance tent, free BENEFUL samples, and free expert advice from dog behaviourist Jo Righetti. Most popular was the free caricature of dogs and their owners, which saw the line snaking through the crowd.

A combined PR effort from public relations agency Pulse Communications saw coverage reach over 25 million people, with highlights including the cover of the Daily Telegraph’s Best Weekend Lift out, Channel 9 and 7 news bulletins, and photo stories in metro magazine mX in both Sydney and Brisbane. A case study created extra interest in the findings of the Beneful Fetching Time Report and received coverage in The Courier Mail, in itself reaching over 400,000 Australians.

Public relations agency Pulse Communications found that 99% of messaging included a reference to the BENEFUL Bark in the Park event, and 96% of messaging included the BENEFUL brand reference. With an initial KPI of 55, Pulse secured 77 pieces of coverage, with further pieces still pending publication.

Bayer Australia and New Zealand is one organisation that, working in partnership with OgilvyEarth, has successfully designed and implemented an internal environmental sustainability communication program. Bayer’s employees are engaged, empowered and motivated to make a difference and are provided with the tools, resources and support required to be part of the solution to improving Bayer’s sustainability.

So how did they do it?

Made up of multiple elements, the B-Green program rollout inspired employees to make a difference, reinforcing throughout communication “lots of small changes x 850 employees + family + friends = big change”. There were three things Bayer wanted their employees to do – Consider the environment in everything they do, take personal responsibility for their actions and embed care for the environment as part of their every day. This led to the development of the B-Green charter – “Think.Act.Live.”

The B-Green program provided employees with educational tools and resources to understand what daily actions they can take not only at work but at home as well , such as printing smarter and considering what can be re-used even before recycling; and what positive effects this leads to in the bigger picture.

Initial research had identified the need for leadership to demonstrate their personal commitment and support, so Bayer’s leadership team were actively involved from day one and continue to play an important role in communicating sustainability as a business imperative.

Bayer set specific reduction targets for their Australia and New Zealand operations and regularly measures and informs employees of progress.

The result?

Bayer Australia and New Zealand’s environmental performance has significantly improved.

Employees have taken up the challenge to make a change, providing a comprehensive list of their own ideas on what could be done to improve sustainability based on their first hand experiences in their role and area of the business; and the program continues to be an ongoing part of life at Bayer.

As just reward for their efforts, the B-Green campaign has won a prestigious internal global award for Bayer Australia and New Zealand, the “Bayer Award for Excellence in Communications – Employee Communications”. This is an international award with more than 800 submissions.

Just goes to show that employees are a big part of the solution. Remember – lots of small changes x lots of people = big change!

The launch produced fantastic results for Microsoft, with 32 key media and analysts attending the public relations event including The Australian, SMH.com.au and CNET. Following the launch, over 40 pieces of coverage were published across a variety of online, print and broadcast outlets, including key metropolitan, consumer, technology and business media targets. Stand out pieces following launch included a five minute, live-to-air interview on Sky Business News’ Tech Report and a live demonstration of Surface on Channel 9’s TODAY program. The show’s technology editor, Charlie Brown, and host Karl Stefanovic demonstrated the Surface product and discussed its potential commercial uses.

Howorth’s primary PR role was to drive awareness across broadcast, consumer and IT media to strengthen Microsoft’s profile as an innovator and leader in the technology field, as well as to promote Microsoft Surface as a desirable and game-changing product to potential partners and customers. The results of Howorth’s PR strategy helped generate an extremely positive buzz around the launch event. The coverage that appeared in the days following positioned Microsoft as an innovative company and highlighted the collaborative and inventive features of Microsoft’s new Surface unit.

Following the launch, Microsoft Australia Developer Evangelist, Michael Kordahi praised Howorth’s efforts by saying, “Howorth deserve some major credit for delivering a successful launch. They not only delivered, they delivered with the highest of standards and passion. Despite the very aggressive timeframe of the launch, they provided a-class service.”